The Next Generation's War
by 221B-Snitch-T.A.R.D.I.S
Summary: A next-generation fic centered around Rose Weasley's sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts. With Neo-Death Eaters on the rise, Rose's emerging powers may be what the wizarding world needs to fight the resurgence of evil. Meanwhile, Rose is drawn to a boy trying to prove he is more than a last name- but can she trust him? Rated T for violence. Constructive criticism welcomed!
1. Chapter 1

I walked into the quiet library and shot a small smile at Madam Prince. She presses her lips together in a thin, line-like smile in return. I slipped into the back corner and settled down at a desk with a thick text on mythical beasts. As I skimmed the chapter on dragons, I heard the rustle of robes around the corner and froze. Within seconds, I was under the table and listening for the scraping of fingernails on bookshelves that told me who was coming around the corner. Lily always gave herself away.

"Rose? Rose, we need to talk." I curled up just a little bit tighter under the desk. Lily had always acted older than I was. It fit, after all. She was the outgoing one, the loud one, the one who went and did things "because they were there". And then there was me.

I could hear her nearing my area. My only comfort was that the desk was old, made of two slabs of mahogany per side and one on top. It kept me covered from prying eyes. The footsteps paused next to my isle. Slowly, I tried to even my breathing and stared at the rows of books in front of me. A pair of silver eyes stared back and my body tensed with shock. My eyes slid shut again, slowly, and I breathed in and out once. Slowly, they slid open again to reveal… nothing. _Just a figment of your imagination, Rose_. In the back of my mind, I heard footsteps tapping away and fingernails running over old wood and relaxed the muscles I had tensed.

Slowly, I began to uncurl my limbs from the fetal position they had been in. _Tap. Tap. Tap_. A new set of steps echoed into my ears and I tightened my arms around my legs once more. These steps were new to me, not Hugo's, James's, or Albus's. Tap. Tap. Tap. They were getting close, headed in my direction. _Tap. Tap. Tap_. My heart began to race. _This is too close, too close_. A pair of black shoes stopped directly in front of my desk. The fluid motion of the robes caught my eye and I noted, _green_, just before a new face popped down in front of mine. _Scorpius Malfoy_.

His motions were quick as he squatted in front of me and, in fear, I scrabbled backwards. My back was pressed against the rows of books and I could feel bits of age-old paper rubbing against my hair. Silver-grey eyes caught and held my gaze and he smiled. It wasn't unkind or manipulative, or boisterous and loud like his usual personality, but a soft smile. Moving quickly, he scooted over to the opposite corner and wrapped his hands around his knees. My gaze followed him the entire time, my fear clear through widened eyes and white knuckles. Slowly, I brought my knees higher up and hid half my face behind their caps.

"So what're you down here for?" He spoke in a half-whisper to me. My eyes darted to the direction Lily had left in and back to his. He tilted his head slightly. "You always have talked without words, haven't you?" I let myself slip out a slight nod and a slight twitch of the shoulders. "Well, I'd hide from Lily, too, if she had it out for me," he quipped, humor lacing the statement. I couldn't help myself but to stare at him. Why was he here?

Somehow, he saw my unspoken question. "You looked like you needed company," Scorpius stated, his tone matter-of-fact and blatant. I immediately tensed. Okay, people were good, but they usually weren't _that_ good. My brow furrowed, but before he could say anything I poked my head out from behind the slab for a half-second, then pulled it back down to the hiding position I had been in before. Slowly, I uncurled myself and slipped out from under the table, watching the boy's every move. I grasped the top of the desk and pulled myself up, keeping an eye on the feet poking just outside of the enclosure of the desk. As I stood up fully, he swung himself up in one clean move to stand in front of me. _Wow, he's tall_. My head bent back a bit so that I could look at him in the eye. He must have been at least four or five inches taller than me. His eyes met mine again and something inside me squirmed. Quickly, I grabbed my book and headed towards the exit, a soft red flooding my face.

A call of "See you again?" followed me out.

The next class was History of Magic, and was as boring as ever. With the entire class in a stupor, I couldn't help but to shoot occasional glances at Malfoy. Today's interaction had me slightly curious. Why would he notice me? And even if he noticed me, why would he talk to me?

He had always been kind of loud, not insanely popular but enough so that he was always on good terms with everyone. He was always smiling and open, but never loud and rambunctious like my cousins were. I knew that he was an only child, but besides that, I had no idea who he was. I tried to stay away from people's lives.

His grey eyes swept up to catch mine and he gave me a grin before I flamed red and quickly turned my gaze to the textbook again.

After class, I could feel him staring at me as I shoved my books into my bag and headed for the lake. As the crowds around me thinned, one set of footsteps remained constant behind me. In a sudden spurt, they sped up and I saw Scorpius trot up beside me, adjusting the strap of his book-bag on his shoulder.

"Hey," he breathed. I barely dipped my head and pushed open the door in front of me. It closed behind us and I felt myself begin to push myself to walk a bit faster. He matched my pace as I made my way around the lake and to the base of the largest tree on the campus. I glanced over at his easy smile as he watched me carefully. I increased my pace again and finally made it to the base of the tree. Carefully, I settled my book-bag into its place among the roots and pulled out my book on dragons. I was considering working with Uncle Charlie when I left Hogwarts, though any job with magical creatures sounded appealing. Settling myself into the nest of roots, I flipped to my bookmark and tried to read. However, Scorpius's presence wasn't helping. He put his bag next to mine and then, as I pretended to read, sat down next to me.

"Same book as before," he observed. I glanced up at him and gave a small nod. He was barely three inches from me, so eye contact was a little bit nerve-wrecking. I didn't usually get so close to other people, though it didn't stop Lily from trying to shove me closer to any random guy she could find.

"Why…" I whispered, then cleared my throat a little. "Why are you here?" His head tilted a little bit.

"Because I wanted to be." He answered, looking down at his feet, splayed in the reds and oranges of fall leaves. My brow scrunched a little bit, but I made myself turn back to the book.

When the sun began to set, I reached to put my book back into the bag as Scorpius stood. When I glanced up again, he was holding out a hand. Tentatively, I took it. It was thin and cold, but strong. He then proceeded to pull me up, but accidentally with more force than expected. I ended up stumbling into his arms, where he caught me. I froze, wrapped up in his arms. Gently, he steadied me and let me go, but not before I felt a hand brush my red locks. He was blushing slightly. I hefted my bag over my shoulder, whispered a quick "thanks," and hurried towards the castle.

I only glanced back once, and saw him watching me go.

I made it to Ravenclaw tower six minutes before curfew and answered the question ("What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every race?") in a mere minute (the letter "e"). I changed into my pajamas and curled up in bed with Circe. The small black kitten loved to curl up in my hair while I slept, and in whatever fold of my robe she could find during the day. Teachers had tried for years to get her out, but she was both well-behaved and sneaky when getting back into the classroom, so she was eventually allowed in as a special exception. Once or twice every month she'd head off to the forbidden forest for reasons still unknown to me. Thankfully, one of those days was today. I didn't want to see what she'd make of Scorpius.

Quickly casting a silencing charm around my bed, I whispered the events of the day to her. So what if she couldn't speak back? It calmed me, and made me feel safer knowing that somebody else knew. After I recounted the day, she kneaded a bed into my hair and fell asleep. My brain kept racing late into the night, though, and I fell asleep wondering what to make of today.

* * *

In the days that followed, I kept noticing his glances in my direction. He would catch my eye in class after class, and no matter what, would always meet me under the tree after class. Some days he would bring a book, others he would just sit there. He didn't show up only once, but I could see the emerald robes flying around the Quidditch field that day.

* * *

Four or five days after that, I couldn't help but to glance his way during Transfiguration. While trying to turn my poor kitten into a bat, I watched his owl turn into a kitten with as much fluff as his owl had plumage. I couldn't help but to let out a tiny smile at the poor thing wobbling around the desk, trying to get the feel of four legs. Scorpius then glanced up to look at me and I jerked my gaze away immediately, trying not to be too obvious. I looked back at my kitten, who I turned into a black owl with a flick of a wand. She flew up on to my shoulder and perched there for the rest of the lesson, letting out occasional '_who'_ noises.

During the break, I headed out to the tree again. Scorpius showed up mere minutes after, and settled down next to me. Circe made a muffled _'mrrph'_ from inside my sleeve as he settled down next to me.

"Hey sweetie," he said, and I jumped in surprise and edged away until I realized he had been addressing the cat. Letting out a breath, I settled back in place as Circe hopped out and began to sniff her way around Malfoy. She then began to climb his robes, making her way up onto his shoulder and nosing his hair. At that point I gave up on reading and smiled as she climbed up his head and began to ruffle a nest in his hair. When she was finished, she curled up in a little ball and fell asleep amongst the tangled strands.

"Well, I certainly have the cat's approval," he joked, his eyes meeting mine. I gave a small nod in response. I reached up and scratched Circe behind the ears a bit, starting her purring. "And now I have a head masseuse, too!" We laughed a bit, and I gently removed the cat and placed her on my lap. Scorpius began to sort out his hair and I went back to reading about Hungarian Horntails.

"You know," Scorpius said a few minutes later, "that's the first time I've seen you laugh." I looked up at him. His silver eyes were fixed on me, and were a bit unnerving. His head tilted slightly. "Why do you so rarely smile?"

I let my shoulders drop a bit and looked out at the lake. "What's there to smile at?" My voice was a whisper in the wind.

"Plenty, if you think about it." I looked up at him again. "You have your family, right?" I shifted a little and stared at the ground. I could feel his mental pause. "Right?" he repeated, his voice softer.

"Um, a bit." I replied softly. An emotional, flighty feeling surfaced in me and I buried myself in the book again.

"Rose?" I looked up at him again. "Are you okay?" I nodded quickly and ducked back towards the book. He didn't pry, but I felt him moving closer to me, and I felt warm with his presence.

We kept meeting up every day to sit under the tree. On weekends, we would each go and do our own activities, but every school day he would come and sit under the tree with me. Sometimes, he would talk while I would sit and listen. He would tell me stories about when he and his friends had gone into the Forbidden Forest and met a wild car, or when he was a child and his broom would only go up. Other times we would read our own books, or sometimes even read over each other's shoulders. It was nice, and I felt a friendship with him. He never tried to force me to talk, like my cousins had. He would just accept that I didn't like to and move on.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the last day of October, All Hallows Eve. Pumpkins glowed in the Great Hall during breakfast and everybody was wandering Hogwarts dressed as goblins or hippogriffs, enchantments laced on their faces or clothes. I had magically grown two black cat ears and a long tail that dragged its last two inches on the floor. Along with it, Lily had colored my eyes the same green as Circe's and somehow given me retractable claws. "For any boys who won't leave you alone," she had warned me with a glint in her eyes. The black dress with the hem half-up my thighs would certainly catch their attention, but Lily wouldn't let me wear anything else. "Be a little _bold_, love," she teased, and pushed me into the Hall.

Luckily, another commotion erupted at about the same time. James and Fred swooped over the tables, throwing live mice everywhere. Circe was the only one who was pleased. As everyone screamed and rodents fell into food and drinks, she jumped from my shoulders and began to gobble them up, sliding down her throat whole.

"_Potter! Weasley! **Detention!**_" roared McGonagall as the boys swooped out of the hall again, Filch chasing after them with his fist raised. As I smiled at the chaos, I felt a hand pick another mouse from my hair.

"Not a bad look, Rose." I turned to see Scorpius, holding out the small white rodent for me to take. He was dressed as a dragon with his pupils enchanted as slits and small scales poking out of his hair. A pair of wings stuck out from his back, big enough that they could lift him (if they weren't just an illusion). I smiled and took the small mouse into my cupped hand. Of course, right about then, Circe hopped onto my shoulder, ran down my arm, and swallowed it whole. We both cringed a bit, then laughed, and it was much better. Suddenly, black flashed across my vision.

* * *

I was looking at a Quidditch game, and the final whistle blew. The crowd roared and I could see the players coming back in from where they flew. A bludger went un-caught, and smashed into a player.

The player, dressed in green, crumpled and fell to the ground.

Silence.

A scream.

Chaos. Blackness engulfed my sight again.

* * *

I felt arms dragging me somewhere, a pair of hands on either side. My vision returned, and the hands let go.

My cousins were screaming, yelling at me in a room of red and gold. Their voices blurred, all I could tell was their anger. They were furious.

Blackness again. I collapsed.

* * *

"Rose!" I blinked. Scorpius was sitting next to me, propping me up in the seat. "Oh, thank Merlin." I blinked again. _What the hell-_

"You froze or something, then collapsed," he informed me, confusion lacing his features. _Oh. That's what-_ "I told the few people who noticed that you had a fear of rodents. What happened?" I glanced away, taking a moment to scoop up Circe from where she sat on the bench. "Rose?" He knew I was avoiding answering.

"I have this thing…" I whispered, absent-mindedly stroking Circe. She burrowed her nose deeper into the fluffy skirt of the dress and purred. "It's been happening since I was little. I used to black out and tell my mom that a gnome would get into the house that day, or that Hugo would fall off his broom. And they happened. They always did." I looked up at him again, seeing even more confusion present than before. "I'm a little bit of a seer. Mum, Dad, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Trelawney are the only ones who know. And only 'cause I kept passing out in Divination." He nodded slowly, curiosity replacing confusion.

"So what'd you see?" he asked, curious. I fiddled with the hem on my dress, nervous. Concern appeared on his face, along with the curiosity. "You don't have to tell me, it's okay."

"Someone will get hurt on Saturday…" I hissed softly. His eyes widened a bit and he let it be, only reaching over and squeezing my hand slightly, a comfort.

* * *

The next day, I went to Professor Trelawney and told her about the sudden vision in the middle of the Great Hall.

"My dear!" she cried after I told her. "Do not make assumptions or dwell on it, for it shall overtake your mind!" Her voice seemed eerie among the glowing candles, but I nodded and accepted her words. "My inner eye sees yours, and you are destined for great things, but this, _this_ is a fixed event. You must let the fates have their way and do not dwell, for then, _then_ you will then try to change. Let it escape your mind, dear." She then bustled around to her tea set and pulled out a small box labeled "to calm and blur". "This will calm you and let you remove the thoughts from your mind, Child of the Inner Eye," she hissed, shaking some into a cup and letting the water run over the leaves. Once the mixture turned a calming grey, she handed the cup to me.

Slowly, I took a sip. It was warm, with a taste like cloves and honey. I drank until only the dregs were left. I actually did feel calmer, and handed the cup and saucer back to her. "Thank you, Seer Trelawney." Slowly, she raised the cup so that she could examine the patterns.

"Of course, Child of the Inner Eye," she murmured absentmindedly as I headed back to Ravenclaw tower, kitten dozing on my neck and my tail and ears slowly disappearing.


	3. Chapter 3

The first Saturday of November came, and with it, the first Quidditch game of the season; Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Lily had somehow found me and was completely dragging me to the game, despite both mine and Circe's deep hatred for large swarms of screaming people. The poor kitten hid along my neckline and I was twitching nervously and checking for exits every few seconds.

"Rose! Calm down!" screamed my cousin over the noise of the crowd. I shook my head vehemently. Suddenly, the crowd collectively roared and the players swooped out. I saw James and Fred with their beater's clubs and Dominique's platinum-blonde hair swish from her position as Seeker. My own brother, Hugo, was the star of Gryffindor's chasers. Then, I saw Scorpius. He was the Keeper of the Slytherin team and a point of hatred for the boys. A little part of me couldn't help but feel torn as the whistle blew and the players went to battle it out.

The fighting felt brutal and amidst the screaming, all I wanted to do was go curl up and hide. I watched as Dominique pushed and shoved against the Slytherin Seeker for the snitch, and nearly flew off her broom. I saw James nearly get struck by the bludger he was trying to hit. I flinched as Fred was hit with one bludger while trying to hit another. I covered my eyes as Hugo and Scorpius collided. The crowd loved it and I couldn't help myself; I ran from the crowd. Down the big stairwell, I peeked out from two levels down. The crowd's volume swelled again as the snitch was caught by Dominique, but somehow, it was still quieter without being immersed in the screams of the crowd. Suddenly, it was too quiet. The crowd had fallen into a sudden hush as a collision with an un-caught bludger sent Scorpius off of his broom.

He fell.

He fell fast.

He fell _too_ fast.

And he hit the ground with a _thud_ that vibrated in my bones.

A scream split the air and noise erupted in the stadium. I sprinted down the rest of stairs, but by the time I had gotten there, he was already gone. I froze at the edge of the field, then sprinted off towards the castle. _No, no, **no**!_ my mind cried. My feet took me to the infirmary and I slammed the doors open. Suddenly, I froze. The rest of the Slytherin team was standing around Scorpius's bedside. All at once, they looked up at me. A nasty-looking girl with long black hair and green eyes spoke first.

"What're you doing here, 'claw?"

"I… um…" I whispered quietly.

"Wait," another player broke in. He was tall, with near-black eyes that scared me. "Isn't she the freak that Scorpius is always hanging around?"

"I-I-I should b-b-be going, n-n-now…" I stuttered. With that, I began to slowly back up until I could close the door. Then, I swung around and ran to the nearest statue. Hands shaking and not thinking straight, I hid behind it and cast a concealment charm over myself and Circe. We sat there for ten minutes until Madam Pomfrey bustled out, on her way to the Quidditch field to inform the game-goers that it was okay to celebrate the victory. Another twenty minutes passed before the team left, chattering about how the game had gone and how to beat "those mangy lions" next time. Quiet as a mouse, I un-did the concealment charms and scurried into the infirmary. Scorpius was sitting up, his back propped up on pillows and lower half concealed by a sheet. He was clean, all but a smudge of dirt and blood on his forehead gone and his various cuts now white scars. Thank Merlin for Madam Pomfrey.

"Hey there, Rose," he said. I unclenched one hand open and closed it again, slowly walking closer to his bedside. "Shouldn't you be off celebrating with your cousins?" I shook my head and sat down on a stool next to his right-side. "Why not?"

"Like before, family is…" I let my voice trail off. He tilted his head a bit and I shook mine. "Later. You're...?"

"Fine," he finished. "I broke three ribs, five bones in my right arm, and got various cuts a bruises, but Madam Pomfrey healed them in a few minutes. It'll ache for about a day, but I'm good." I nodded. We sat in silence for a few minutes and watched as Circe hopped from my neck to the bed. Scorpius idly stroked her.

"The team said you stopped by before I woke up." I looked up. "Why'd you run?" I looked out the window.

"They scared me…" I whispered. "That one girl looked like she wanted to rip off my head." Suddenly, Scorpius snorted.

"That'd be Akantha. She seems to be threatened by any girl who approaches me. The guys on the team say she likes me or some crap. All I know is that she's constantly sweet-talking me and hating any other girl around." I nodded slowly.

"Still… You know…"

"You aren't good with people." I nodded slightly and looked at my lap. "And yet you came to see me, and from what it sounds like, in a horrible rush." I looked up and saw him with a small teasing smile on his face as I turned a florescent shade of red and glanced down again.

"Good job, by the way," he said slowly. My eyes darted up again. "Pretty good vision." My eyes widened. _My Sight!_ I had completely forgotten until now! "Was there anything else you saw?"

In a sudden burst, the door slammed open and Lily and James were there, closely followed by Hugo. Circe ducked under the covers; she hated the cousins.

"I **_knew_** I'd find you here!" yelled Lily, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.

"We'll be taking her now, thank you very much," growled James as they dragged me out the door. As I cast one frantic glance back, I saw Scorpius staring with a slightly bewildered expression on his face and one hand on Circe's form under the covers.


	4. Chapter 4

We reached the Gryffindor common room, which was in full party-mode, in a few minutes. From there, the three of them dragged me up the stairs to the seventh-year boy's dorms.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" hissed Lily as I sat down on the side of James's bed. "You _know_ who he is! Your father _explicitly_ _warned you_ not to get close to him!"

"Not to mention, he led to Gryffindor's defeat in the Quidditch cup last year!" roared James. I felt tears pricking my eyes, but was determined not to let them fall.

"Listen, sis, that guy's bad news." I kept my gaze on my shoes the whole time, not even looking my brother in the eye. "First off, he's a flipping _Malfoy_-"Lily cut him off.

"You better avoid that freak, Rose, otherwise your dad will freaking _disown_ you." Silence fell.

Still speaking to the floor, I asked, "Are you guys done?" my voice barely reaching a whisper. I could feel their gazes boring into me. I heard Lily sigh.

"Fine, we're done. But _don't_ forget where your loyalties lie." I got up and walked back home to the Ravenclaw tower. There, the eagle knocker took one look at me and asked, "Rose, what's wrong?" I sniffed. I had gotten rather close to the eagle over the years, as had a few other Ravenclaws. Whenever we looked upset, its question would always be "what happened?" When you answered, it would open the door, simply because it understood that you had to be at some sort of mental peace when answering a riddle.

"It's my stupid family again," I said softly, then broke down in tears as I told the story to the knocker.

"Oh, dear," it said when I was done. "Well, you go and get some rest now and see how things are in the morning, okay? Oh, and I let your cat in a few minutes ago, I heard her getting into your bed." "Thanks," I whispered as the door swung open. Before it closed, the knocker replied, "Best of luck, dear."

When I flopped into bed, I felt my cat pawing at my side. When I glanced up, she had a scrap of parchment between her teeth, addressed with my name.

I gently took it from her and opened it.

_Rose, _

_What happened? Are you okay? What was all that about? Please tell me if you're okay. (p.s. Thank Merlin for your intelligent cat, she seemed to understand me completely and should be delivering this...) _

_-Scorpius _

From there, I threw the scrap across the room and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

For the next few days, I avoided Scorpius completely, going to Ravenclaw tower whenever I would usually go out to the lakeside. I would watch out the window as Scorpius would sit under the tree for passing periods, sometimes even hours, for me. With each passing day, he would get more and more frustrated. I saw him pacing, then throwing rocks into the Black Lake. 'Course, the squid threw them back, so he learned not to do that rather quickly. I made it all the way until the next Friday.

"Hey, Rose!" Someone was calling my name, but I kept walking through the crowded hallways. I felt a cold hand grab mine and pull me from the flow of students off into a small alcove. I looked up and looked into silver-grey eyes framed by platinum blonde hair. Pale skin flushed a slight tint of red and his hand dropped mine.

"Why are you avoiding me?" he quipped, glancing out the window that framed him perfectly. A flash of lightning lit up the edges of his face. I shook my head quickly and tried to turn away, but his hand caught my shoulder. "Why don't we go to Hogsmeade this weekend? You know, just as friends, we could go get butterbeer or somethi…" His voice trailed off when he saw my face. My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn't breathe. "Rose?" Before I had even processed what had happened, I was slipping out of the alcove and heading towards the doors. I heard a shout of "Rose!" and a hand on my shoulder, trying to stop me. Without thinking, I shook it off and ran for the doors, slipping out into the light rain with a book tightly clutched to my chest.

I ran full-tilt, reckless as I sprinted through the battering waves of wind and airborne drops. It was a sprint fueled by emotions rolling inside of me and I collapsed at the base of a tree, feeling drained. Circe poked her nose out, and feeling the drops of rain, ran back to the castle as fast as I had run from it. My grip on the book hadn't faltered, and I could feel my fingers pressing into the worn cover, trying to simulate the pressure building in my chest. I swung the book-bag around so that I could shove the book inside and nestled it into the roots. I could see Scorpius opening the castle doors, coming outside, too. I pushed myself up and grabbed a handhold in the old tree's bark, heaving myself upwards into its branches. I made my way about half-way up and curled up where the main trunk split into five or six different branches. I felt myself begin to tear up and tried to choke back my emotions for just a bit longer.

I failed, though, and by the time Scorpius was at the roots, I was full-out sobbing, clutching the branch.

"**_Rose?!_**" he roared over the pounding of the rain, looking around. He finally noticed my form among the branches. "_**Rose, come down!**_" I shook my head and held onto my support. "_**Goddammit, what'd I do?!**_" I ignored him. After a few minutes of frustrated yelling, I saw him pull out his wand and turn back to the castle, muttering something I couldn't hear. In a few minutes, a broom shot out towards him and he caught it with ease. Quickly, he mounted it and flew up towards me, navigating through tangles of branches and leaves. He stopped a few feet away and stood on a branch next to me, broom in hand.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what I did." His voice was calm and measured, but he spoke through his teeth.

"It's not you," I murmured. He got a little closer.

"Sorry, what?" "It's not you," I repeated, just a touch louder. He laughed and threw out his arms in a wide gesture.

"Then what, Rose?!" He shook his head. "The excuses some people make," he muttered, letting his arms drop and shaking his head. I sniffed again.

"It's my family." He frowned and got closer.

"Come again?"

"It's my family, they hate you!" I yelled back. He looked a little taken aback. "My dad hates your dad and keeps telling me that I have to do better than you in class and Hugo that he has to beat you in Quidditch and James and Dominique and Fred all hate you because of Quidditch and-and-and-" I broke down sobbing again. I struggled to get control of my sobbing again. "-and if I go against them, then what'll I do?! They are the only people who care about me and they'll always be there, so what'll they do if I choose you over them?!" I sniffed again. "They…" My voice lowered to a murmur again. "The rest of my family has always been loud, so I stayed quiet. I slipped under the radar, but they didn't treat me any different because of it. Weasleys have always tried to be controlling. It's just because I didn't stand up that they were able to. Have been able to." I looked up at him. "Told you I have family issues."

"Oh, Rose," he sighed. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Gee, tell you that _everybody_ in my family essentially hates you for different reasons? Let's see, yeah, that's a _great_ idea!" Scorpius grinned.

"Was that _sarcasm_, Rose?" I blushed a little bit, but it wasn't noticeable under the crying-redness on my cheeks.

"Happens sometimes…" I murmured. He smiled.

"Rose, how's this: you come with me to Hogsmeade and your family can go screw themselves, yeah?" I laughed a bit, but sobered up quickly enough. "Hell, it's not like we're dating!"

"Scorpius, I can't. My family will disown me, I can't do that…" He sighed. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"Fine, fine. At least let me help you out of this tree?" he asked, reaching out a hand. I smiled and took it, brushing off the last of the tears on the back of my other hand. He helped me onto his broom, me in front of him, and pushed off. He was pressed up tight against my back as we swooped downward, and the first thought in my head was _Quidditch training has done him good_. My second thought was _thank Merlin he can't hear that!_ Suddenly, we pulled upwards again and I cried out, "hey!"

He laughed and replied, "If I can't take you to Hogsmeade, I might as well take you out on a ride!" His breath was warm on my ear in contrast to the cold wind as we swooped over the edge of the forbidden forest and skimmed over the lake. I watched the water flash beneath us and waved back to one of the giant squid's tentacles. I couldn't control my laughter as he wove between the goal posts of the Quidditch field and through one of the big loops. When he finally set me down at the base of the tree, we were both breathless and smiling. My book-bag made its way back onto my shoulder and we sort of stood there, staring at each other as we caught our breath. Strangely, I felt a burst of confidence along with the adrenaline in my blood.

"Umm, my relatives wouldn't necessarily have to see us in Hogsmeade, would they?"

"Not at all," he smirked. It morphed into a grin as he saw my smile. "How about you meet me at the gates at five and we go get some of that butterbeer I was talking about?"

"See you tomorrow," I replied, quiet again, and headed back to the castle with a smile plastered on my face.


	5. Chapter 5

When I reached the knocker, it asked, "Okay, you're getting a real question after this, but is everything resolved?"

"Erm," I replied, "no, not really." Slowly, I explained what had happened. The knocker sighed.

"Honey, as an object enchanted by Rowena Ravenclaw herself, you should probably sort this out with your family before going to bed. You have two hours until curfew."

"But-"

"I'm not letting you in, dear." I groaned.

"Fine, then," I sighed. "If I come back to you in tears, this is your fault!" I yelled over my shoulder as I walked off.

"We'll see, dear."

* * *

When I reached the Fat Lady, I asked her to fetch Lily, Hugo, and James for me. They invited me up into James's room, and my first order of business was to ask them to hear me out without any interruption.

Of course, they immediately burst into protest.

"What do you mean 'no interruption'? That's impossible!" cried Hugo.

At the same time, Lily said, "Oh, great, can't wait for what you're going to say next."

And of course, James had to put in his two cents with "Oh, please, we're Potters and Weasleys," which was probably the most honest thing I've ever heard come out of his mouth.

"Guys, please? Promise me."

"Fine."

"_Fine_."

"Like I said, Potters and Weasleys, I'm not making any promi-" Lily shot him a glance as sharp as knives and he quickly tried to recover with, "Erm, I mean, sure, Rose."

"Okay, thank you." I took a deep breath and a pause to steady my nerves. "Listen, I know you guys don't like Scorpius. And trust me, I've heard your reasons plenty of times over." I took another deep breath. "But I think you guys are wrong here." James immediately opened his mouth to say something, but Lily clamped her hand over it and mouthed the word _promise_ at him and he relented.

"Scorpius isn't like his father or grandfather or whoever else was a Death Eater in that family. He's nice to me and doesn't try to force me to do things I don't want to do. I also know that you hate him for Quidditch purposes." James nodded violently. "Okay, think about it this way. Do I hate you guys for scoring on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?" Their brows furrowed. "It's the same thing. It's a game, and you guys need to get over it." I took yet another deep breath, steadying my nerves.

"AndI'mgoingwithhimtoHogsmeadethisweekendjustasfriendsyouknowokayI'mdoneyoucangoaheadandyell," I blurted out. There was dead silence. Tension was a rubber band pulled just before the point of snapping. I was already cringing, thinking of whatever the hell they were going to yell at me. James just stood up and walked out. Lily was shaking her head slowly from side to side.

"Rose," Hugo whispered slowly, "_Dad's gonna kill you_."

* * *

On my way back to the Ravenclaw Tower, I heard James yelling and found him screaming at a blank wall in the dungeons, the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. Rolling my eyes, I left for Ravenclaw Tower.

"See, dear, was it that bad?" asked the knocker.

"My brother told me that my dad will murder me, one cousin's in shock, and the other is yelling obscenities at a blank wall. You tell me."

"Not bad, all things considered," it mused. I shot it a glare. "Fine, what goes around the world, but stays in a corner?"

"A stamp."

I sent Circe down there later with a note in her mouth addressed to Scorpius.

_Dear Scorpius, _

_Sorry, but the knocker made me clear things up with my family (explain tomorrow). That's why you have a screaming cousin outside right now. Apologies. _

_-Rose _

Circe returned twenty minutes later with a reply and curled up along my neckline as I read his messy scrawl.

_Dear Rose, _

_Oh, that would explain the furious cries of "Malfoy, you arse, get out here and duel like a man!" I'm not even kidding (I wish I was!). Only a few minutes before prefects go out on patrol, though. That'll make him go back home. So we're still on for tomorrow, right? _

_-Scorpius _

I smiled and began to scribble a reply.

_Dear Scorpius, _

_Yeah, that sounds like my cousin. We're still on, don't worry. If anything, I'll steal Al's invisibility cloak and sneak out. _

_-Rose _

"Sorry, last trip," I whispered to Circe, picking her off of my neck. "How are you getting past James, anyways?" I swear, she rolled her eyes. "Right, here you are then." She took the note and trotted down the stairs. I pulled out my pajamas and slid into bed, a candle still lit and waiting for a reply.

When she came back, she dropped the note on my lap and fell asleep on my pillow.

_Dear Rose, _

_Oh, is the quiet girl being bold today? Just teasing, I'll see you tomorrow! _

_-Scorpius _

I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face.

* * *

The next morning dawned cool and bright, the sky laced with traces of last night's storm. The air carried a hint of a chill, a warning that winter would soon sweep in. Swinging open the window, I curled up on my bed and finished off the next section of Dragons of Our Age. Circe was thoughtful enough to bring me a bagel while I read, but it was probably because she wanted to go get her own breakfast milk. Soon, I lost track of all time. I could feel Circe sleeping on my feet as I flipped through page after page. Finally, the sun rose to the point of noon and I got awoken from my reading coma. Stretching, I poked my head out of the tall window and breathed in the crisp air, feeling slightly excited.

"Geez, Rose, I haven't seen you smile this much since Uncle Charlie brought his work home last summer." I looked over my shoulder to find Lily with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. _Uh-oh_.

"Get that look off your face, Rose, I won't yell." She walked over to my bed and sat down on the edge and patted the space next to her. "Sit." I did so, still wearing my blue pajama pants and bronze-colored top.

"Rose," she started, fiddling with the sleeve of her red nightgown, "I can't say I like Malfoy," Lily confessed. I sighed. "-but that doesn't mean I'm going to try to stop you today." I looked up at her, shocked. "Rose, you're your own person now. You're sixteen, nearly of-age, and should be able to make your own decisions." She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I've talked to Al, and he says that he's worked with Malfoy before in class, and he wasn't so bad. I guess that counts for something." Her eyes reached mine. "But know, when word of this reaches our dads, shit's gonna hit the fan. In fact, I think I saw James heading off to the owlery. So good luck, there." Suddenly, a small smile broke across her face.

"Well, since this is your first-ever Hogsmeade date-"

"It's not a date!" I hissed at her, flushing red. She ignored me.

"-then we're going to make this one unforgettable! Come on, I'm going to get you ready." With that, she opened my wardrobe and started flipping through it. "Go take a shower and use whatever scented soaps you want, just come out smelling good!" With a wink she added, "That's the first step to getting a guy." I rolled my eyes and headed out to the Ravenclaw bathrooms. After stripping, I stepped into the warm stream of water and began to soap through my hair with a rose-scented shampoo. Might as well listen to Lily before she starts yelling. The smell wasn't a strong one, but soft and quiet. It had been a birthday gift from my mother, along with a quill and a sketch-book for field research. I guess she had wanted to mix in a "normal" gift along with our nerdy ones.

After I finished up with the matching conditioner and body wash, I rinsed and stepped out of the shower. A wave of my wand dried me off completely and my hair fell to my shoulders in silky locks. When I wrapped myself in a towel and headed back to my room, I found that Lily had already set out an outfit for me. It was simple, yet cute. A navy-blue long-sleeve shirt with my Ravenclaw tie was over a black skirt that flared out just a little bit. Black flats finished off the outfit. I quickly pulled everything on and threw my robes over it. When I did, a note fell to the ground.

_Hey, cuz, _

_I'm going to be running to get my make-up and hair things from Gryffindor Tower, be back in a few! _

_-Lily _

I rolled my eyes and sat down at my desk again to read about Norwegian Ridgebacks as Circe hid in the sleeve of my robes.

She must have meant a few _hours_ later, because at three-thirty, Lily came back lugging a large box full of muggle products, followed by Dominique, our cousin and resident quarter-Veela. "Aaaand here we go!" With a light umph, she dropped the box on my bed and caught sight of me being crushed by Dominique's sudden and tight hug.

"By Merlin, Rosie, you look _amazing_!" She ran over and began straightening my robes on my shoulders. "I knew my skirt would look good on you! And keep that tie a little looser, this is more of a necklace now than uniform!" she giggled, loosening the tie. "Okay, now sit down and let me do your hair."

"Hey!" cried Dom. "**_We_** are doing your hair and make-up," she said with a pointed glare at Lily. She looked back at me. "If you're going to go, then you're going to look amazing. End of story." She turned back and started rummaging through the box. "No cousin of mine is leaving this place looking like a slob, and especially for a first date!"

"It's not a date," I muttered through gritted teeth, flopping down on the bed. Of course, they ignored me.

Suddenly, I felt a bunch of yanks and tugs on it but stayed quiet as a bunch of enchanted muggle products began to fix up my hair. I kept reading and let them do their work, bickering over how I should look for my "date".

* * *

Thirty or so minutes later, Lily cried out, "Okay, you're done!" I looked into a mirror and let out a small gasp. My red Weasley hair was half-up and half-down, a braid one either side going back to the center and becoming one braid. The rest was in elegant loose curls, not tight ones, but flowing stretched spirals. It looked beautiful. "And now for make-up…" she muttered to Dominique. After about three minutes of rummaging through the box, Dom pulled out a black pencil-like thing. "Eyeliner," she muttered again, and raised her wand. "Close your eyes," she annunciated more clearly than before. I followed her instructions. With a muttered word, I felt a powder fly, presumably from the pencil, and land on the edges of my eyelids.

"You can open your eyes now." I did and saw Lily holding up a mirror. My eyes were thinly lined at the tops with black and a small wing of the black extended just past the edge of my eye.

"And try this on," Dom urged, holding out a tube of lipstick. I tried it on and it was a pink, semi-natural and enough to accent my lips without drawing loads of attention to them. I beamed.

"Thank you," I whispered. They grinned and enveloped me in a hug.

"You have twenty minutes until you have to go down there, so we'll go. Knock 'im dead!" I laughed and the two of them skipped out, grinning and holding hands like school children. I laughed and began to pack a bag of essentials. My money, of course, went into the bag, along with a blanket for Circe. She went into the bag next, along with a good-luck charm (a tail scale from Norberta, Hagrid's old dragon) and a few just-in-case potions I always brought with me. Quickly, I double-checked the expiration dates on the potions. The wound-sealing potion was still fresh, I had made a batch just last week, as was the calming potion. The curse-dispeller was a bit older, but I still didn't need to make a new batch until next week. The last one was similar to a counter-curse, only it would work on any long-lasting effect from most curses. The only downside was that it worked slowly, taking nearly ten minutes to come into effect. Noticing I had ten minutes, I threw the rest of the potions (burn heal, instant-warming for frostbite, and pain-reliever) in the bag over my shoulder and headed out to the gates. When I got there, Scorpius was waiting for me.

"Ready?" he asked with a smile. I nodded and we began to walk down the path to Hogsmeade.


	6. Chapter 6

"So I ran into Al earlier," he commented as we walked. Apparently, I cringed, because he laughed and continued, "No, no, it wasn't too bad. He just warned me that any bad moves on my part would get me murdered by a swarm of Potter-Weasleys." I nodded slightly. That was the impression I had gotten, too.

"Oh, he also warned me that James _might_ be out for my blood today."

"Might?" I mused.

"Okay, yeah, he's out for my blood." With a glance at me, he smiled. "Still worth it, though." _Damn my Weasley blush_, I thought to myself. We walked the rest of the way into Hogsmeade without talking, me trying to mask my small smile and him trying not to look at me but failing miserably.

We made it to the Three Broomsticks and he pulled open the door for me. We stepped into the warmth of the restaurant and chose a table with a squishy, padded bench.

"I'll go get us drinks," he said. I nodded and looked around the warm atmosphere. People were drinking, laughing, and generally having a good time. I saw Lily with a Hufflepuff boy giggling over half-empty glasses and Al jokingly toasting with James. _Oh no. James._

_Clunk_. A glass of warm butterbeer was plopped down in front of me. "C'mon, scoot over now," grinned Scorpius. I did, and he sat down next to me. When he saw my face, his brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

"James," I whispered. "I don't think he saw us come in, but…" I felt a cold hand on mine.

"Hey, it's okay. He looks too drunk to do anything, anyways." I smiled and took a sip of my butterbeer. It warmed me up inside and gave me a cozy feeling. "So how's life been going?"

"Pretty well. You?" I murmured awkwardly.

"Oh, come on now. Something has to have been going on," he said with a smile. "Come on, I'm trying to make conversation here."

"Well, I'm nearly finished with my book now," I replied.

"Oh, yeah, the one on dragons, right?" I nodded. "Didn't I hear you talking to Hagrid about your uncle or something like that?" I nodded again and took another sip of butterbeer.

"Uncle Charlie. He works up in Romania with dragons and other magical creatures," I answered. "Hagrid got a dragon once and had it sent up there. It nearly burned his house and almost killed off my dad with a poisonous bite!" I laughed and Scorpius grinned. "You should see her now. I went up there this summer and she's as big as the Quidditch field! She's also decently tame, for a dragon, and she liked to sleep curled up around my tent. It was so cute! I even got to watch her hunting down a deer. It was amazing, the way she could disappear in those giant trees, just this giant beast gone from view!"

"So is that what you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?"

"Probably something like it. Maybe Magical Creatures control for the Ministry, or maybe I'll work on other research projects. I might work for Hogwarts with Hagrid, taking care of the creatures in the forest or teaching kids. Hagrid's job actually seems pretty nice, and he's getting a bit old to chase third-years around." I took another sip of butterbeer and glanced at Scorpius. "How about y- ummm…" I paused. "Why're you looking at me like that?" His bemused expression turned into a smile.

"That's probably the most I've heard you talk. You're really quiet unless you're passionate or mad…" he thought out loud. My brow furrowed, and I realized he was right. _Must have gotten the "passion" bit from my dad_, I thought.

"So how 'bout you? What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?"

"Not sure," he replied. "I might be an Auror, or work for some branch of the Ministry. I might see if there are any jobs open at Hogwarts, too. I've always been decent at Defense against the Dark Arts, so I might give that a go. Potions are fun, too, and I wouldn't be surprised if Slughorn kicked the bucket any day now!" he joked. We laughed and I felt surprisingly at ease. Of course, that was immediately shattered. Black flashed across my vision.

* * *

An explosion.

Someone screaming in terror.

Someone wailing in pain.

Green flashes going off left and right.

The cackling of flames on wood.

The hissing as it devoured everything in its path.

Fear. Pain Confusion.

Chaos. Panic.

Noise was all I could take in as world went to hell.

* * *

I woke up to Scorpius's hands gently shaking my shoulders. I blinked once or twice. "Rose?" he whispered fanatically.

"I'm fine," I whispered. I reached up to wipe my face and found tear trails.

"Oh, Rose, did you see something that bad?" I nodded slowly and I felt his arms around me. I choked out a breath and hugged him back.

"_What the **hell** do you think you're doing?_" growled a voice. Slowly, I raised my eyes to see James towering above us. _Oh shit._ Slowly, I let go and shifted myself a bit away from Scorpius.

"James…" I whispered. He ignored me.

"Malfoy, get out your damn wand! We are putting an end to this now!" he roared. Scorpius looked amazingly calm for someone who could get so fiery. I sniffed and wiped away the rest of my tears.

"Potter, I am not dueling you in the middle of Hogsmeade. Especially not in the Three Broomsticks." He looked around. "Too many people to get accidentally hit." Over James's shoulder, I saw three cloaked figures step through the door. Something struck me as off.

"Umm, guys, I think there's something wr-" I began, only to be cut off by James.

"You arse, Malfoy!" he roared, grabbing the front of Scorpius's shirt. Before he could do anything, though, one of the cloaked figures pulled out his wand.

Everything exploded.

We were thrown into a wall, and my brain went fuzzy. The ground was cold under me, and everything was spinning.

Somebody was screaming, wailing. I heard people crying out for help. Heat from flames licked at the base of my robes and I struggled to crawl away. Pain in my head built until it felt like something was trying to break its way out of my skull.

Everything went black and I slumped into somebody's arms.

* * *

There was noise everywhere. Someone was screaming for help, others were outright sobbing. Cries of fear and terror filled the air and people's feet sprinted to safety. I squinted open my eyes. I was being carried, I could feel their steps hurry into a run as another explosion went off.

"The Death Eaters are reborn!" screeched a high-pitched voice. Green lights flashed in the smoke-filled air and I felt someone holding my body closer as they picked up speed. I saw figures running against the light of a fire. One fell, struck down by another green flash. I recognized her. Olive Beffan. Fifth year, Hufflepuff, a bit dim, but a sweet girl. Always giggling. Dead. Gone. Another scream echoed in the air.

Everything faded into silence and darkness again.

* * *

"Rose! C'mon Rose, please!" a frantic voice whispered into my ear. His breath was warm in the cold air. I shifted a little bit and whimpered as pain shot through my arm.

"Oh thank Merlin," breathed the voice. "Stay quiet, I think they're still out there." I opened my eyes a little bit and saw Scorpius holding me to his chest, bridal position. My right arm was limp against his chest and filled with pain as tears pricked my eyes. He was walking carefully, testing each step before he took it. We were heading upwards and it felt like stairs, from his movements.

"Where are we?" I hissed quietly. "What happened?"

"I just got you inside the shrieking shack. James knew the spell that let us in, and-"

"Wait, James helped you?" He shrugged a bit, causing me to move up and down in his arms. I let out a hiss of pain as my arm was moved.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Well, yeah, there were Neo-Death Eaters in the streets. It was me or nothing."

"What?!" I whispered in shock. Gently, he set me down on a bed where I sat up. It was a bit musty, but I wasn't complaining.

"Yeah, some nuts are back in business. We were blown through a wall and into the neighboring alleyway. James told me the way in here and to get you out of there. He went back in to find Lily, Al, Hugo, and whoever else he could get in here." Gently, he lifted my arm into a bent position and conjured up a sling with his wand.

"I have to go help him," I said, trying to get up before faltering and falling into Scorpius. He caught me and helped me onto the bed again.

"Look at you, Rosie. You've lost blood and have a broken arm, and maybe even a concussion. You're much better right here, where you can rest. Help's coming, and more people should show up soon. Just stay put." I looked up at him, where his silver-grey eyes calmed me. It was then I noticed how beat up he was, too. He had a nasty cut over his forehead and a large splinter of wood, about the size of a quill, caught in his hair. Various other cuts laced his body and his white shirt was splattered with red. I saw a couple of places where his clothing had caught on fire and he supported some first and second degree burns.

"You're not much better," I whispered. As I absent-mindedly reached up to wipe a bit of blood off his cheek, I remembered.

"Scorpius, where's my bag?" He pointed to the doorway, where Circe was curled up among the tattered leather. Hesitantly, I wobbled towards it. I felt a cold hand on my good arm, helping me towards it. When I got to it, I crouched down and pulled out the small bottle of wound-sealer. Scorpius helped me back to the bed and when I sat, I made him sit beside me. Dabbing my fingers in the viscous, thick gel, I smeared a bit over the cut on his forehead, making him wince. "There we go," I muttered softly, rubbing a bit more in. Slowly, the blood on the cut began to dry until it looked several hours, or even a day old.

"Thanks," he whispered. Slowly, I treated the burns on his legs and arms. The potion wouldn't heal them completely, but it'd work well enough until we got back to Madam Pomfrey. Suddenly, I heard the front door slam open. In a second, Scorpius had his wand out. He poked his head out of the door and then relaxed. "Al, Lily, up here!" he hissed. I could almost feel their suspicion.

"Guys, I'm here, too!" I called out. There was a sudden tromping up the stairs and Lily threw herself past Scorpius and at me.

"Rose!" she cried, and at the same time, Al and Scorpius both hissed "shhhh!" She wrapped me in a tearful hug.

"James said you were out cold, are you okay?" she whispered. I nodded a bit.

"You?" She nodded.

"I've just got a burn," she told me, showing me a long line of second degree burn on her left forearm. "Al's got a broken ankle, though." I glanced up to find Scorpius helping Al up the stairs, two pieces of wood holding his bone in the right place. "James fixed up a splint for him and we only just made it out." She sniffed a bit. "But I think Sammy's d-d-dead." I gasped. Sammy had been the Hufflepuff she had been with, a muggle-born. She started to tear up, finally choking out, "I-I-I saw him g-g-get hit b-b-by a g-g-green flash…" I watched as Al hobbled over and sat down next to her. She was wrapped in her brother's arms in a flash and I looked them over for other injuries. Various cuts, burns, and bruises scattered their bodies, but none were too serious. After I treated the long burn on Lily's forearm, they'd be okay without the potion, and who knows who else might have a dire need for it. Slowly, I went over and treated the burnt skin. Then, we each took a small sip of the pain-relieving potion.

"Thank Merlin for your paranoia, Rose," murmured Al as he drank his sip.

Scorpius came back from the doorway and put his wand in his pocket. Slowly, he sat down next to me and I handed him the pain-reliever. He shook his head a bit.

"Don't need it." I raised an eyebrow and pushed it a little bit more firmly into his hand.

"Fine," he relented, and took a sip. "It's getting dark out there," he continued, handing me back the bottle. "We should probably stay the night." His mouth was pressed in a tight line, trying not to feel. I nodded. We couldn't all grieve now, we had to protect each other. Who knew if they were still out there?

I pulled out my wand, fumbling slightly with my left hand. "_Expecto Patronum_." A silvery-white snow leopard erupted from the tip of my wand. "Minerva McGonagall," I stated. "Students Albus Potter, Lily Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, and myself, Rose Weasley, are at the Shrieking Shack, sheltering from the attack. Expected that James Potter and others will come and shelter also, as he was the one to send us here and go back to help more. We also expect to stay the night and emerge when it is deemed safe. Please reply with instructions if necessary." The mountain cat leapt through the window and glide-ran off in the direction of the castle. With that, I flopped back down next to Scorpius. "Thank Merlin I'm slightly ambidextrous." He nodded.

"Should we all pass out here, or what?" he asked. I looked at Lily, curled up in Al's arms.

"Maybe we should let them sleep here. The bed's kind of small." He nodded. "But I think we should all sleep in the same room. It'd be safer." Scorpius took a few moments to consider this, and then walked out of the room. In a few minutes, he came back, levitating a couch. A light thump filled the air as it settled in the other corner of the room. Suddenly, a silver tabby cat came soaring through the doorway and spoke in the Headmistress's voice.

"Good, stay there. I will send a teacher to attempt to take those in hiding back to Hogwarts in the morning. James Potter and Hugo Weasley have already sent in a patronus, and are hiding in the passage between Honeydukes and Hogwarts with Fred Weasley and a few other students. If any other students come seeking shelter, notify me immediately. Stay safe." The tabby cat disintegrated. I sighed.

"Okay, should someone keep a watch or-" Suddenly, the front door slammed open, cutting through Al's words. Scorpius was at the door again, wand drawn.

"Help! James said we'd find somebody here, please!" a shrill voice cried. Scorpius raced down the stairs, panic on every feature. Quickly, I got up and grabbed the bottle of wound-healing potion, ignoring the dizzy, spinning ache in my head. As I made it to the doorway, Scorpius was half-way up the stairs with an unconscious third-year in his arms. Another, a fourth-year girl, followed in near hysterics. Leaning against the doorframe, I handed her the calming potion and told her to take a small sip. She followed my instructions and her sobs slowed into hiccups. Her shoulders shook as I guided her over to the couch.

"Okay, what happened?" I whispered to her, gently as possible.

"S-s-so we were in Honeydukes and- hic!- we were buying some sugar quills. Suddenly, we heard a 'splosion." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "And then Luc and I thought that we should get back to Hogwarts 'cause anything like that couldn't be good. We put the quills on a random shelf and ran out, b-b-but a cloak, h-h-he swept in front of us and c-c-cast a s-s-spell that m-m-made Luc s-s-scream and f-f-fall. S-s-she was twitching and-and-and-" The girl began to hyperventilate and I gave her a bit more of the calming potion.

"Were you two hurt in any way other than that?" She shook her head.

"An' when she passed out, he raised his wand to do it to me, too. An' then he was hit by a curse. I carried Luc towards Hogwarts, an' ran into James. He tol' me this was closer, an' there was help here. So I carried her here. An' now we're here." I nodded slowly.

"Well, take the calming potion if you start to panic again," I whispered. Slowly, I stood up again and walked over to Scorpius. He had levitated another mattress over into the room and laid Luc down on it. As I walked over he stood up. "She okay?" He nodded.

"Heartbeat seems to be okay and her breathing's fine. I think she was just hit by the cruciatus curse and passed out from pain." I nodded slowly.

"What kind of people torture children?" I hissed. He shook his head.

"Not good ones." I couldn't help but let out a little snort. That had to be the understatement of the year. I left his side and went back to the little girl's.

"What're your names, honey? I need to tell McGonagall."

"Ivona Patil and Lucia Patil," she informed me. She was much more together now that the calming potion had taken effect. I turned to face some empty space and cast my patronus again.

"Ivona and Lucia Patil have joined us. Lucia was hit with the cruciatus curse, but otherwise the two are unharmed." The silver beast soared through the window again, and disappeared. I looked back at Ivona. "Do you want to sleep down there with your sister for tonight?" She nodded slightly and moved to go lay down. In a few minutes, her breathing evened and she fell into the arms of a gentle slumber.

I looked at Scorpius. "Let's get some sleep," I whispered. He nodded and awkwardly sat on half of the couch, trying not to take up too much space. I sat down next to him and, after a moment of thought, leaned into him. He was warm and solid, and I needed the comfort. I could feel him slip his arm around me and pull me closer to him. I fell asleep like that, leaning against him with his arm around me.


	7. Chapter 7

When I woke up, I could feel someone behind me, their chest pressed to my back. _Rather nice chest_, my half-awake, bleary mind thought. I was on my left side, my right arm still held by the cloth sling. Their arm was wrapped around me and I could feel warm breaths on the crook of my neck. To be painfully honest, it actually felt kind of good, and I stretched a bit, realizing my legs were tangled around theirs.

"What in **_hell_** is going on here?" growled a voice.

It was right about then my brain decided to wake up. It took me about a half-second to figure out who I was curled up with. Another half-second told me who was growling. Within three seconds, Scorpius and I were upright and on opposite ends of the couch, looking up at James. Merlin knows how we got untangled that fast. All at once, we tried to splutter out explanations.

"It was cold in here-"

"We didn't mean to-" James held up a hand. Every muscle on his body was tensed, his other hand's knuckles turning white.

"Get your sorry arses into gear and get your stuff while I wake the others," he growled slowly through his teeth, the threat clear in his voice. With that, he turned and began to gently shake Lily awake. Avoiding looking at Scorpius, I grabbed the potions that were laid around the room and dropped them into my bag, along with Circe.

While James helped up Al and Scorpius levitated the couch back into place, I tiptoed over to the sisters and crouched next to their mattress. Both were completely out cold, and when I glanced at the window, light was barely beginning to poke out from the horizon. With movements as slow and gentle as I could make them, I began to check their breathing and pulses. Both seemed steady, but with one look at them, I could tell they needed their rest. I rose and made my way over to James.

"Can you and Scorpius carry the girls? I don't want to wake them." He gave a small nod and went over to where Scorpius was coming back from wherever the couch had come from. After a few clipped, short words, the two boys went over to the mattress. Gently, Scorpius lifted Lucia and supported her so that she was sitting on his right arm and leaning over his left shoulder. I walked over and guided her arms around his neck so she was less likely to fall. James was taller and heavier built, so he picked up the older girl, Ivona. He carried her in the same way, so I stretched up and moved her arms around his neck, too. I watched as he shifted her a little and her arms tightened around his neck.

"Let's go," whispered Lily from where she was helping Al walk. He must have bumped his ankle around in his sleep, because it was now swollen. I led our little procession down the stairs and towards the front door.

"Not there," hissed James. He took the lead and led us into the basement. Pointing his wand at the blank wall, he muttered a spell. The wall disappeared and led to a tunnel.

"Leads to under the Whomping Willow. Press the knob right next to the exit and it'll stop moving." I nodded and headed forward, leading again. When we reached a set of stairs, Circe jumped out of my bag and ran ahead. We tromped up the stairs to find Circe up a four or five foot tall hole with both paws on the knot. I stared at her a bit.

"You're cleverer than you let on, aren't you?" I whispered. She winked.

"Budge up, we need to get Al to the Hospital Wing," muttered Scorpius. I found a few foot-holds and hand-holds and climbed out of the exit, one-handed. Scorpius lifted Lucia next and I took her under the armpits, setting her at the base of the Whomping Willow's trunk. Scorpius came through next, and helped James with Ivona. Soon, the boys had helped Al out and we began to make our way over the grounds to the front gates. Somehow, the girls slept right through it and Circe followed at my heels, releasing the knot once we were out of range.

At the gates, Professor Flitwick took down our names and directed us to the Great Hall, the temporary Hospital Wing. Students were being treated by a small host of frantic teachers, and the chaos was terrifying. Suddenly, as we stood staring, Professor Slughorn ran over to us, wheezing.

"Miss Weasley!" he wheezed, "If I remember correctly, you were the one who creates wound-sealer and pain-reliever potions on a weekly basis?" I nodded.

"Yes, Professor," I mumbled, opening my bag to reveal my multiple potions.

"Excellent! If you don't mind, dear, run along to the potions room and whip up as much of any useful potion you can think of. We need it a- Oh, dear. Let me fix that," he babbled, lifting his wand. After a few complex waves and wiggles, he pointed it at my broken arm and I gasped at the momentary pain as the bones clicked back into place.

"Owww…" I hissed through clenched teeth.

I noticed a touch of concern flash through Scorpius's eyes. And James, flashing a warning look at Scorpius. I ignored them both.

"Now, dear, I'm gathering up our best seventh-years for this job, but since you came into my office that day in your first year to learn these, I think you're up to the task. Now, would you please proceed to the dungeons?" I nodded and glanced back at the ragtag group behind me.

"They'll be treated and sent up to their dorms, dear, don't worry." I accepted his response and made my way to the potions room, where several other students were working over hissing cauldrons and preparing ingredients. I set my bag down next to me and cleared a space on the desk, moving old textbooks and making a small bluebell flame, like my mother had taught me. It flickered in the middle of the desk as I retrieved my cauldron from the storage room. I explained to Circe how much of each ingredient we needed, and soon the two of us were pulling out dried plants and bodily parts of magical creatures from the storage room. Soon, we had the wound-sealer potion bubbling away. I couldn't help but giggle as some of the seventh-years stared at Circe. She was always helping me gather and prepare ingredients while I worked on other bits and pieces of the potion. As she squeezed the juice from some pods, one of the other students asked me, "Are you sure she's not human?" I couldn't help but shake my head no.

It was midnight when we were told we could stop making potions. By that time, we were all exhausted. One of the girl's hair was puffed up from the smoke and everyone had some sort of markings on them, either from accidentally wiping something on themselves while working or from the smears of ash and soot from the fires. Even Circe had lacewings knotted in her fur. Eyes around the room were glazed over and shoulders were hunched from weariness. The headmistress herself came down to stop us, and I felt a small bit of pride in my chest. "Thank you very much for your services to this school. You shall each receive an award and 50 points for your house. You may now bottle what remaining potion you have and head back to your common rooms to…" McGonagall looked around at our disheveled appearances. "Clean up." A few students cheered, and I cracked a smile as even Circe joined in with a caterwaul. With a few swipes of my wand, the excess potion was bottled, the cauldron clean, and the bluebell flame out. Circe hopped back into my bag and the two of us trudged back up to Ravenclaw tower, where the knocker endlessly quizzed us on what happened and our state of being.

After my extended verbal essay on the events of the previous two days, we were let in to see Scorpius sitting in the common room.

"Oh, right, dear, I had to let him in because he answered my question and told me you were okay."

"_Knocker!_" I cried softly.

"Sorry, dear," it responded, swinging closed. With a sigh, I turned back to face Malfoy. We were the only ones in the common room, making me shift uncomfortably. Circe hopped out of my bag with ease and curled up in his lap as he sat on one of the couches. He slowly started to stroke her, pulling lacewings out of her fur with nimble fingers.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on my kitten. I shrugged and went to sit next to him.

"These last few days seem like a dream, something that only happens in the news." My voice was barely a whisper. He nodded slowly. I felt his arm slip around my shoulders and I leaned into him. "Is there a death c-c-count?" I mumbled into his shoulder. I saw Circe out of the corner of my eye. She winked and headed off to the dormitory.

"A memorial or funeral-like ceremony next week," he replied, pulling me into his arms and hugging me, for his comfort as well as mine.

"I-I-I saw this… I-I-In the three b-b-broomsticks. When J-J-James came over…" I sniffed. "I-I-I s-s-saw the p-p-place going up a-a-and people d-d-dying…" His breath was warm on my neck, his face buried in my hair. I was sitting on his lap now, hugging him and feeling my tears slip down my cheeks and onto his shoulder, and feeling his tears mix into my hair and trickle down to my neck.

"Shhh…" he murmured, running his hand up and down my back. I let myself go and tears overflowed as his rhythmic strokes continued. It was silent, this comfort. He cried silently, with little motion, but I let out small hiccups and my shoulders shook when I sobbed. I found it mildly ironic. He was talkative otherwise and cried in silence, while I hardly spoke and cried with small whimpers and mewling noises. I felt his hand still moving up and down my back, quiet comfort. We cried all of our tears out to each other, but I stayed in his arms even when the tears dried. And then I heard the knocker. The door had a little revolving panel for it so that it could flip to look inside, and it was staring the two of us down.

"Dears, it's two in the morning. I think Filch is going to murder you if he catches you out any later than this. The Slytherin better head back, now." I slowly unwrapped myself from his arms and we stood up.

"I'll see you later, then," I whispered, eyes on the ground. I felt a cold hand caress my cheek and gently lead my gaze up to meet his eyes. They were stormy and beautiful, and I couldn't help but be captivated by them. Slowly, he leaned forward and placed a light kiss on my lips, a lighter touch than a butterfly's wing.

"Goodnight, Rose." He turned and left, closing the door behind him softly, leaving my frozen form standing in the middle of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Five minutes passed as my brain exploded into thought, too many to process, a whirlwind that I had no control over.

Another ten later, the Knocker asked, "Are you okay, dear? You haven't moved in quite a while." I didn't answer. "Rose, dear?" "

I'm okay," I whispered.

"Rose, are you alright?" I nodded slowly, looking up at the worried bird.

"Ah, well, happens a lot to Ravenclaws. Get kissed, minds explode, and can't process anything for a bit. All's well, dear, now go get some sleep." I nodded and turned to head up the stairs.

"Night, Knocker."

"Night, dear."


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, breakfast was silent. The only noises were footsteps and occasional cries of relief when people found out that their friends were well. All too often, a sobbing child would run back to their dorms with news of a death. Finally, Headmistress McGonagall stepped up to the gold owl podium.

"Students of Hogwarts." She took a deep breath. "I come to you today with news of an event that you all know of and that nobody was left untouched by. Yesterday, Neo-Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade. There were multiple deaths from both our school and the residents of the town." She took another shaky, deep breath and I thought I saw a glint of tears in her eye.

"And now I present to you a death list of the thirty-two students that were killed in this horrific event." I stiffened. _Can I handle this?_ I couldn't know _that_ many of them personally, right? And no one from our family was killed…

"Mufasa Pride. Molly Anne Richardson. River Song. Max Prohasta. Jack Boe. Ava Summers. Unai Mikolio. Rachel-" _Unai_. An image instantly raced across my mind. I had worked with him on potions, once. He was smart and talked to me about how he had accompanied his father on an undercover auror mission once. He was shaping up to be one himself, with O's in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms. His only struggle was keeping things alive. Uncle Neville said that the boy had a "brown thumb", the opposite of a green one, and he would be chased by the hippogriffs whenever he was anywhere near them. Smiling, laughing, **_gone_**.

"Amy Pond. William Sherlock Holmes. Sam Winchester. Olive Beffan. Augustus Waters. Tris Eaton. Ari Batchelder. James-" _Ari_. I had known him, as well. Son of a werewolf, he had inherited his father's condition. Every full moon Madam Pomfrey would take him out under the Whomping Willow and he would shift in the shrieking shack and sleep there for the night. I only knew this because I had been in the Hospital Wing brewing up Madam Pomfrey some wound-sealer when he had come in. He had sat down and we had talked. He had sort of a wolfish sense about him, ruffled hair and sharper teeth than the average human. Not to mention, he was always up here around the full moon. I had seen him shovel half-cooked steak into his maw enough at the Gryffindor table to infer this, too. Thus, I confronted him that night. He was very decent about it, just asked that I not make a big deal about it or tell anybody. I had promised on my life. And now his was lost.

Twenty-five names down, seven more to go. _I can do this_.

"Silena Beauregard. Charles Berkendorf. Luke Castellen. Dominique Weasley. Bast Apophasis. Kevin-" _Dominique_. Dominique was dead. _**Dominique was dead.**_

My ears were ringing, I couldn't hear anything. I saw my cousins at the Gryffindor table with eyes and mouths open, Lily sobbing and James with fury beginning to fill his face. McGonagall rolled up the scroll and kept speaking, but no sound reached me. Black began to encroach on the edges of my vision. I didn't have any balance any more. I was falling in slow motion, falling, falling…

And then the black crashed over me like a wave.

* * *

She was running through the forest, dodging trees and roots. Flashes of light followed her, striking the foliage around her. She turned and Shot a spell over her shoulder, missed, and kept running. Her breathing was hard, and she had to move quickly, quickly, quickly.

She flew as though buoyed on wings, her platinum-blonde hair flowing behind her. In the direction she was running from, a cloud of smoke was going up and screams echoed. The Three Broomsticks. This was the past. She kept running, but the hexes were coming less frequently. And then, suddenly, there was someone in robes in front of her. The girl froze and glanced behind her. At me.

It was Dominique.

"_Expelliarmus!_" the man cried, grabbing her wand out of the air.

Another Neo-Death Eater stepped up behind me and both held out their wands. Dom was paralyzed, tensed, a rabbit ready to flee. The one in front waved his wand at a body he was dragging behind him. It was a villager, a beggar. Slowly, it morphed to look like Dom. It wasn't an illusion, though. I watched as the flash melted and re-formed into her face, peaceful in death.

As he stood, his mask slipped off and I could see his face. I felt a scream building in my throat, fear knotting in my chest.

Draco Malfoy. Father of Scorpius Malfoy, married to- I turned. Astoria Malfoy. Her hair was the right color, as were the eyes that stared through me. She raised her wand and Dom's voice was gone, though I could see her try to scream.

Astoria reached through me to grab Dom by the hair. With a _pop_, they were gone. Apparition. A letter fell to the ground, out of the mother's pocket. All I could read was _Love, Scorpius_. And the black cloud engulfed me once more.

* * *

I woke up screaming.

It was dark in the infirmary, but I watched as Scorpius jerked upright from his hunched over sleeping form. Circe jumped off of the bed in shock and raced up Scorpius's neck instead, a scarf.

"Wha- Ugh, what in the- Oh, you're awake…" he mumbled, still half-asleep. His hand was limp on my mattress still, and I shoved it off violently. I even put my foot on his chair and shoved it as hard as I could, toppling it over. He finally woke up fully with a hissing, spitting cat clawing its way off his face.

"What in the bloody hell, Rose?!" I was sobbing loudly, now, head buried in my knees, not looking at him. But beneath my closed eyelids I saw _Love, Scorpius_. I heard him stand up and right the chair.

"Rose, why'd you do that? Jeez, I'm awake, you didn't have to-" I felt a hand on my shoulder and lashed out, slamming him away from me. He propped himself off of the ground on another bed, swinging himself up like he had done the first day in the library.

"S-s-stay away," I choked, my uneven breathing hitching the firm words. His expression was confused.

"Rose?"

"_Stay away!_" I shrieked, burying my head into my knees again.

"What'd I _do?!_" he cried indignantly. He was sitting on the other bed now, arms thrown out like they had been in the tree on the rainy day.

"Y-y-you _**knew**_!" I screamed. "You and your _**fucking parents**_, you **_knew_** they took Dom, **_she's not dead_**, they _**took**_ her, _**THEY TOOK MY COUSIN!**_" I screamed at him. "_**YOUR FUCKING PARENTS ATTACKED HOGSMEADE AND KIDNAPPED MY COUSIN!**_"

Right then, Professor Trelawney burst into the room, closely followed by McGonagall. I had never been so glad to see the Divination teacher before. I was a crying, blubbering mess, sobbing into my knees and Malfoy looked almost… scared? I didn't care. He had known, he should have stopped this, stopped Ari and Unai's deaths, stopped the deaths of twenty-nine other innocent students, stopped Dominique's capture.

"By Merlin, what is going on here?!" cried McGonagall. I kept sobbing as Scorpius tried to explain my behavior. I felt a thin, long, boney hand being placed on my shoulder. I looked up into Professor Trelawney's eyes and she studied me as I sniffled.

"This child needs tea." Her voice was filled with authority and strength, so much so that Scorpius and McGonagall stopped talking mid-sentence and looked our way. Somehow, she pulled a tea cup with leaves already on the bottom from her robes and pulled out her wand. A gush of hot water filled the cup and she stirred it a bit, letting it stew. Then she handed it to me and indicated that I should take a sip. The liquid was warm, not too hot, and filled me with the heat as I swallowed. I stopped crying and wiped off my face.

"Thanks, Professor…" I murmured.

"Now, dear, your vision, please." I nodded while the other three looked extremely confused. She was good at telling when I had seen something. It was a part of her Inner Eye.

"It was in the Forbidden Forest that you found Dom's body, right?" A nod from McGonagall. I took another sip of tea, then lowered the cup and watched as Circe took a few drops for herself. "She was wearing singed robes, just like Dominique, except you missed a detail. Dom always wore a necklace. It was from her mother, passed down on the Veela side for generations. Silver, thin, with a locket in the shape of a small sphere. It holds some enchanted water, stuff that makes the wearer glow a little bit, with a kind of radiance." I looked up at the wide-eyed teachers. "That wasn't Dom. That was some town bum with his flesh reconfigured to look like her." Everyone but Trelawney kept staring.

"I saw her running. She ran into one of the Death Eaters, black clad, tall, and then another came up behind her. She was trapped, and then…" I glanced at Scorpius. He was staring, wide-eyed, a bit of fear in them. Fear that I would expose him, perhaps. I didn't care.

"The one behind her, the woman, she grabbed Dom by the hair and they apparated out of there." I took another sip of the tea. "A letter fell out of the woman's pocket." My hands shook as I raised the cup again.

"But there was one more thing before they left. Before they left the one in front bent down to reconfigure the flesh and his mask slipped." I looked Scorpius dead in the eye.

"It was Mr. Malfoy, and the one behind my cousin was Mrs. Malfoy." The teachers looked taken aback, even Trelawney. I looked away before I could see the look on Scorpius's face, though. I wasn't sure what to expect, or if I could take it.

"And the letter ended with '_Love, Scorpius_'," I choked, my voice breaking.


	9. Chapter 9

The events of the night had taken place very quickly after that. McGonagall had owled Teddy and Flur, as well as Uncle Harry and Dad. Them being Aurors and all, she was required to. Scorpius was taken to the Headmistress's office and kept under the watchful eyes of the former Headmasters' paintings. I finished my tea and was sent back off into sleep with a watchful Trelawney by my bedside, taking Scorpius's place on the stool. A few hours later, I had extracted the memory and given the vial to the Headmistress, who wore a constant look of worry over her face. With a full-blown investigation of the Malfoy Manor and Dominique's "body", I could finally sleep well, and as Trelawney kept telling me, "The inner eye being open for so long with such a clear vision takes up much too much energy, tea and rest, dear, tea and rest". My cousins came by the next day with regards from Knocker and _obvious I told you so_ looks on their faces, though they somehow managed to stop themselves from saying it out loud. They told me that they hadn't found any evidence in the Manor or on their wands, and so they were free to go, but the examination on the body proved my vision correct- the body was of the bum on the corner of Hogsmeade. Dom was alive. Soon, everybody left but Lily. She hung back by the bedside, drinking her own cup of tea.

"You know, Rose, I probably shouldn't tell you this…" she murmured into the liquid. "James would kill me, but I think you should know. When he was taken in, Scorpius asked to be questioned under the influence of Veritaserum. It was more like begging, actually." She glanced up at me, then back down at her tea. "He sounded so sincere, so honest. I think he was innocent. There's no way that he'd be crazy enough to take the serum without being innocent." She let out a slight laugh. "You should have seen his face when he said your name. He obviously cares about you, Rose, so deeply that he'd be willing to throw himself under the effects of one of the most dangerous drugs in the wizarding world."

She left after that. I didn't have a response. _How does one respond to that sort of thing?_ I wondered, sipping down another cup of tea. This one was chamomile with honey, one of the many types that Trelawney had provided on my bedside table. Definitely my favorite teacher.

The infirmary doors opened and I ignored them, making a cup of non-caffeinated green tea for Circe instead. A touch of sugar and plenty of milk, and soon my kitten was enjoying her own cup of warmth.

"Does the cat like tea as much as Trelawney or are you just being too nice?" I froze. I knew that voice.

Scorpius sat down on the edge of the infirmary bed to my right, bent forward and resting his elbows on his knees. I didn't speak. I didn't know what to say.

"I guess I get it if you don't say anything. I wouldn't know what to say if I was in your place, either." I kept my gaze fixed on my tea, not even daring to look at him.

"I just wanted to tell you that I had no idea that any of this was going to happen. I would have never taken you into danger, never supported anything that got innocent people killed, I would never…" His voice trailed off. "Basically, what I'm saying is that I want to say sorry. Apologize for my parents. And tell you that I'm on your side for this." _He was what?_

"You're going against your parents?" I whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

"Well, they didn't say anything to me, so I'm assuming they don't want me mixed up in this either," he snorted. "Besides, these people that they're allied with, they _tortured and killed children,_ Rose. There is no way in hell I'd side with them." I kept my gaze on my tea with all my will, though every ounce of me wanted to look up at him. Wanted to see his face. But I kept my eye on the steaming liquid in front of me. A pregnant pause filled the air, silence engulfing us both. The only noise was the lapping noises from the bedside table.

"Rose, I just wanted to tell you… I don't expect you to trust me right away." I couldn't help myself. I flicked my eyes in his direction and back. He was staring at the ground, shame and guilt written on every feature. "I just want things to go back to the way they were. I want warm fall days underneath the tree. I want to go back to when you smiled at me, when we would laugh together. And hell, I'll do whatever I can to prove to you that I'm not like my parents." I stiffened. It felt… wrong, having him at my mercy. I grit my teeth a little bit.

"Can I have… time? Just a little bit." My whisper was trembling, with fear, nervousness, I didn't know. I looked over at him and saw his grey-silver eyes staring me down. His nod was slow, thoughtful, and he stood up in the same fashion.

"Can you send Circe when you're ready?" His words were as soft as mine. I nodded, still captivated by the hurt and guilt in his eyes. And then he walked away, his footsteps as methodical as ever.

That was when the door slammed open and James practically ran into the room, stuffing a piece of parchment into his pocket.

In one fluid motion, he grabbed Scorpius by the collar and socked him across the face, breaking his nose. An unholy scream ripped its way from my throat and I was frozen with shock and fear. I had never seen my cousin like this before. Scorpius dropped like a stone and was on his hands and knees, trying to get up, red dripping onto the floors. Then James kicked him in the gut. Scorpius fell again, harder than before. Suddenly, I un-froze and flew into a flurry of action. Where is my wand? As I threw open cupboards in panic, Circe suddenly acted.

With a caterwaul, she threw herself in between the two boys, hissing and spitting at James. He stopped, knowing that if he hurt my kitten then he was going to be in deep trouble with me. He reached out his shoe to nudge her aside, and she attacked him, climbing up his robes and slashing him across the face. Three red lines bled across his cheek. With a roar, he threw her to the side, but she was the diversion needed for Scorpius to get back on his feet. As the kitten bounced onto one of the beds next to me, Scorpius dodged one of James's hits and slammed his fist into his stomach. As James scored another hit, I finally found my wand.

"_Protego!_" I screamed, casting a shield in between the two of them. James quickly pulled out his wand to dispel it. "_Expelliarmus!_" His wand flew into my hand and I watched as James tried to find out where the barrier ended while Scorpius tried to stop the blood gushing from his nose. Both were breathing hard. Circe was gone from where she had landed, most likely going to go find a professor.

"James, _what the hell was that?_" I hissed. He had given up and was now sitting on the edge of a bed, wiping off the blood that trickled down his cheek.

"I'm sorry," he snorted with sarcasm saturating every word, "but is this not the freak whose parents _kidnapped our Dom?!_ I saw him coming up here-" He touched his pocket slightly. _The map, _I thought_._ "-and I'll be _damned _if I let him near another one of our own. I told you he was bloody trouble and did you listen to me? Nope, you had to go and get all cozy with **_the Death Eater!_**" At that moment, Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall burst in, Circe at the lead. _Thank Merlin, she got the Headmistress_.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?!" screeched Madam Pomfrey, hurrying over to James and pulling out her wand.

"Miss Weasley, the barrier, please," McGonagall ordered. I raised my wand and the barrier dropped. Circe jumped onto the bedside table again and kept drinking her tea like nothing had happened. _Cats_. The Headmistress walked over to Scorpius and looked him over. "May I get your description of the events, please?" There was a sound of protest from James, and without looking up she snapped, "I will get yours after this, Mister Potter."

"I wath in here tho thalk tho Rothe, an then-" McGonagall cut him off with a wave of her hand, looking over at Madam Pomfrey, who was just finishing up on my idiot cousin.

"Actually, I'll get your testimony second. Madam Pomfrey, if you don't mind fixing up this young man's jaw, that would be lovely." She swept over to James, instead, and handed him his wand back. "Your version of the events, please."

"So I saw Malfoy heading up here and after Rose's vision, there was no way I was going to let him anywhere near her. I ran up here and attacked him." He wasn't even trying to gloss it over. This was going to get interesting. "That _Death Eater_," he spat, "has been trying to woo my little cousin for fuc-"

"Language, Potter."

"Er, freaking _months_ now, and now that his parents went and kidnapped Dom, there is _no way in hell_ he will get close to _anyone_ in our family. What if they vanish next, huh?!" he cried.

"**_I would never-_**"

"Boys!" cried McGonagall. "That is _enough_. There has been no solid evidence that the Malfoys have kidnapped your cousin, and for all we know, that part of the vision may be slightly skewed. Her inner eye is still opening, and we need _concrete proof_ before we make accusations like that." Her face was flushed and she looked as though she may snap and slap my cousin. She then promptly turned her back on him and spoke while walking over to Scorpius.

"Mister Potter, if you would please wait in the hall." My cousin snorted and walked over to the statue, closing the door a little harder than necessary behind him.

"And now for your story, Mister Malfoy." He nodded, shifting his jaw slightly.

"I came in here to talk to Rose. I wanted to apologize for my parents and ask her if there was anything I could do to… try and fix things a bit." He glanced over my way and I quickly feigned interest in my tea. "When I was getting up to leave, James ran in a punched me. I fell, and he kicked me. Then Circe-"

"Who?"

"Rose's cat. She's rather intelligent." McGonagall raised an eyebrow and I could almost hear her think, _what in Merlin's name does a cat have to do with anything?_ "Anyways, she attacked Potter long enough so that I could get up and defend myself. Then Rose found her wand and cast the barrier charm. Potter ranted pretty much the same things he told you, and then you arrived." McGonagall nodded slowly.

"Miss Weasley, do you agree with both testimonies?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Very well, then. There will be no points taken from Slytherin. You are dismissed," she said, nodding at Scorpius. He glanced at me and left, walking on the opposite side of the corridor as James.

"Mister Potter, come here." He walked in, a sulk on his face. "There will be fifty points taken from Gryffindor and you will receive a detention next Saturday. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Professor," he muttered through gritted teeth, spinning on his heel and stomping out. We watched him go, watching the door even after he left.

"Miss Weasley." I looked up at the Headmistress. She looked weary and tired, older than ever. "Would you please explain to me what your conversation with Mister Malfoy involved?" I gulped nervously.

"He said that if he had known anything about it, he wouldn't have supported it. That he doesn't support it. He said he's on my side and he wanted to gain back my trust. I asked him to give me time and he was okay with it, and when he was getting up to leave, James came in and-" I cut myself off, choking slightly.

"Did you believe him?" he question was simple, but I felt like it meant much more.

"I… I think I did. He was so sincere… He seemed willing to do whatever it took to prove himself." Suddenly, a memory flashed through me. "Professor, when we were down by the lake one day, he came with a black eye. He told me that somebody had attacked him because his parents had been Death Eaters. He was so ashamed, he just… _let_ them beat him up." I took another sip of tea. The Headmistress watched me carefully.

"Very well. Your opinion will be valued, since you seem to be his only friend." I looked up, startled.

"I'm- what? But… he was always surrounded by people…"

"Miss Weasley, no one is any more. Yes, he was popular before, but true friends are tested in times of trouble and it does not seem that he has them anymore." She left and I sat there, dumbfounded.

* * *

I was released from the infirmary the next day. Professor Trelawney still made me keep the set of different teas and I would drink one cup each night before bed. Besides that, the entire castle seemed to be in a paused setting. No classes were going on, no one was allowed out except for Quidditch practice, always supervised by a teacher. I wasn't allowed out by the lake anymore, and so I spent my time in the library instead. I wasn't reading aimlessly anymore, though.

Lily walked in on the third day of searching. I was surrounded by a pile of books, some from the restricted section, others from various places around the library. All had to do with one topic.

"Rose, why are you researching Divination? School isn't even in session." I shook my head and kept reading. "_Rosie._" I glanced up. "Rose, why are you killing yourself over this? I found you asleep with your head in one of these things yesterday. What on _earth_ are you doing?" I shrugged and turned back to my book. "_Accio book!_"

"Hey!" I cried indignantly. Quickly, my cousin glanced at the section I was reading.

"Forcing a vision? Really? Wait… Rosie, are you trying to find Dominique?" I glanced down at my tea, turning red.

"Maybe." My cousin paused.

"Fuck it." I raised an eyebrow as she flopped down in a chair next to me.

"'Scuse me?"

"This is our best damn chance right now…" she muttered, shoving the book back at me and throwing Circe off of the pile. She opened a new one and began to read.

* * *

It took us another two days. Finally…

"_ROSIE!_" I jumped and a hiss of _shhhh_ came from the librarian's desk. Quickly, Lily shoved her book in front of me. The section was on forcing a vision, and was actually something we could use.

"Writing…" I muttered under my breath. "Incense… A bit of hair… Lily, go get Dom's notes and her hairbrush." I stood up and enchanted the rest of the books to go back to their shelf spots. "I'm going to go find Scorpius."


	10. Chapter 10

I was directed to the Slytherin Common Room by my cat, and was let in by a kind first-year. I walked in, ignoring the stares I was getting. _Be brave, be brave, be brave_…

"Scorpius." My voice was a whisper as he looked up from where he was reading. "I need a favor."

Twenty minutes later, Scorpius, Lily and I sat in the room of requirement. It was a small, circular room with a round table in the center and squishy pillows to sit on, not unlike Trelawney's classroom. An incense burner, a bronze bowl, a bit of rose oil, two pieces of parchment, an envelope, and a tuft of hair sat in a line in front of me. I picked up the letter from Scorpius's parents, both of their handwriting, and tore it into little pieces in the bowl. I did the same to Dominique's notes and placed a drop of rose oil into the mix. I lit the incense and spread the smoke in three counter-clockwise motions around the edge of the bowl. It was then placed in the incense burner. Carefully, I tore off the licked edge of the envelope and wrapped it around Dom's hair, making the DNA portion of the spell. I lit the edge on fire with my wand and tossed it into the bowl as well, lighting everything in there. A steady stream of smoke curled from the burning mix and I shivered in fear. Slowly, I leaned forward and breathed it in.

Blackness swallowed me up.

* * *

I watched as Dom was dragged by her hair into a small shack in the woods. It was desolated, abandoned, with a snake skull hanging from a nail on the door. The rest of the skeleton was trod underfoot as the two went into the house. When they reached the kitchen, Mrs. Malfoy conjured up ropes to tie my cousin to a creaky wooden chair. Mr. Malfoy apparated there just moments after, followed by two other Neo-Death Eaters. They, too, had a child. It was one of the town children. I had seen him often, selling lemonade and pumpkin juice for a knut a cup. He was a sweetheart, and I could see tears pouring silently down his face. His jaw was locked shut by a curse, and I cringed in sympathy.

"When will He come?" growled the man with the town child. His partner chuckled darkly.

"He will come at midnight on the full moon," answered Mrs. Malfoy.

"And what shall we do with the blood sacrifices until then?" growled the other man.

"Bind them to chairs. We need five more, as we must recall all pieces of his soul," said Mrs. Malfoy. "We have five days. The others must make it happen. Where is Dawlish?"

"Cursed and nearly captured. He stopped to torture a pair of students before capturing them and took too long. The little ones got away and he barely made it out. He thought it best to return to your manor and heal rather than exhaust himself. There are too few of us for that." _Lucia and Ivona_. I thanked Merlin that they had made it out alright.

"Very well. You shall take first watch, then, Goyle. We must return before we are missed." With that, the pair of Malfoys turned on the spot and vanished. I started. With the Malfoys gone, the power of the conjured vision would be wearing off. I needed to know where this was. I hoped that Dom would keep me anchored long enough…

I ran through the door and down the road, my hair flying behind me as I ran as fast as I could. I made it down to the little town and a name flashed across my mind; Little Hangleton.

Blackness ate me up again.

* * *

"Rose!" I opened my eyes a bit. I was laying on the pillows, looking up at the blank ceiling. I felt a cold hand on mine. "Rose?" I tried to sit up but stopped halfway up and collapsed. _Thank Merlin for fluffy pillows_.

"_Owww_…" I muttered.

"Oh thank Merlin," I hear Lily sigh. I heard her putting out the fire with a quick "_Aguamenti._" I felt a hand on my head.

"You're warm," Scorpius said.

"No, your hands are always cold," I mumbled.

"We should take you to Madam Pomfrey."

"Scorpius, if I go back every time I have a vision, I'm going to live there. Now help me up please?" I felt a hand push its way under my back and make its way over to my other shoulder blade, his other hand on my right shoulder. _He's on my left. Okay, they moved. Why?_ Slowly, he pushed me upright, despite the throbbing in my head.

"_Ow_," I groaned again, putting a hand to my head. I felt his other hand moving, gently rubbing my shoulder, keeping me propped up. Circe was on my lap, staring up at me to make sure that I was okay. Lily was staring from across the table, a bowl full of water and ash in front of her. The incense was still burning, perfuming the room. "How long was I out?"

"Twenty minutes on the dot," replied Scorpius, glancing at his watch. Slowly, the dizzy pain was going away, being replaced by exhaustion. Circe ran under the table suddenly, bringing out a cup of black tea.

"Thank you, Circe…" I mumbled as she put it in front of me. Slowly, I took a sip, trying to get some strength back. Scorpius was still supporting me a little, hand rubbing my shoulder. "When's the full moon?"

"Like, four days. Why?" I swore under my breath and tried to stand up, but failed and ended up in Scorpius's arms again. "Woah, what'd I say?" quipped Lily.

"There's going to be another attack. Soon. Somewhere with children." I took another sip, my cup shaking in my hand. "They need five more kids before the full moon. Something about a blood ritual." I looked at Scorpius. His eyes were filled with concern and I felt regret that I had ever doubted him. "Remember Ivona and Lucia?" He nodded. "If that Death Eater hadn't been taken out, they would have been in the same situation."

"Rose, I'm sorry, but did you figure out where they were?" Lily was fidgeting, nervous. I didn't blame her. We had just learned that our cousin was going to be used as a blood sacrifice for hell-knows-what. I took another sip of tea, the cup almost empty.

"Yes. Both Dom and the little lemonade boy from Hogsmeade- remember him?- are in a shack on the edge of Little Hangleton. It's got a snake skull nailed to the door. Kind of deep in the woods. There was one Death Eater watching them when I was sucked out. I think that was from three days ago, but still…" I finished off my tea and looked at the dregs. I felt myself involuntarily stiffen and Scorpius immediately tensed, too.

"What is it?" he asked. My hands shaking even worse than before, I handed him the cup. The dregs made the unmistakable shape of an eye- and a Grim.

* * *

We made our way back to Ravenclaw Tower in order to figure out our next course of action. I couldn't stand without my head throbbing, so Scorpius carried me like he had the day of the attack, one arm under my knees and the other cradling my torso to his chest. I looped my arms around his neck and we arrived at a rather stressed Knocker without running into anybody.

"_You_, young lady, have been missing for the past _week_ and are _very lucky_ that I haven't spoken to Professor Flitwick about you. _What is your excuse?!_" Scorpius's breath tickled my ear as Knocker continued its tirade.

"I swear, it's like you have two mothers."

"I _heard_ that, mister!"

"_Knocker_."

"Don't you 'Knocker' me, young lady! You have not been sleeping in your bed for the past seven days and I demand to know where you've been!" I groaned.

"Fine, Knocker, the first night I had a bad vision and ended up in the Hospital Wing. After that, I… _might_ have spent the next six days in the library." I cringed, waiting for it to start yelling.

"And _why_ exactly did you not come back here to go to bed?" If metal eagles could grit their teeth, it would be.

"I… _might_ have fallen asleep reading. Every night. Sorry."

"And would you _please_ explain to me _why you seem incapable of walking?!_"

"Erm… Forced vision. I _might_ have just… forced myself to have a vision." I cringed again. I heard Knocker take a deep breath. Then, something odd happened. Circe clawed her way up the door and placed a paw on the knocker's forehead. It closed its eyes and we waited for a few minutes. Finally, the kitten jumped down again and Lily sealed up the claw marks with a roll of her eyes and a wave of her wand. The knocker snorted.

"Your cat's smarter than you are, dear. Very well, head on up. And you better not sleep in that library anymore!"

"Okay, Knocker." The door swung open and we walked inside, Scorpius sitting down without bothering to move me from his lap. I didn't care- in fact, I wouldn't say so, but I liked it. He slipped his arm out from under my knees and used it to pick up Circe and place her on the arm of the couch. Lily sat on a chair opposite of us and played with the hem of her shirt.

"So where do we go from here?" she asked after a lengthy pause. I glanced at the clock on the wall.

"It's nearly six right now, and we have four days after today until the full moon, where Dom and six other kids get killed."

"We could tell your dad," Scorpius suggested.

"But this is the _Ministry_ we're talking about," Lily interrupted. "They're practically _famous_ for corruption. What if something slips? Rose will have to do this whole craziness again, and who knows if she'll be able to do it within the two or three days that are left?" I glanced up at Scorpius.

"She has a point."

"A good one, too," he muttered. "What about McGonagall?"

"Dears?" I glanced over at Knocker. "I _may_ have taken the liberty of already calling her." The door swung open and the Headmistress walked in. We all tensed and slowly, I felt Scorpius's hands lift me so that I was sitting _next_ to him instead of _on_ him.

"Miss Weasley."

"Yes?" I squeaked.

"Exactly _what_ were you doing in the Room of Requirement just now?" I sighed. _Crap_.

"I… _might_ have been doing a spell… that _may_ have involved a _little_ bit of magic from the restricted section… that _may_ have _possibly_ induced me into a forced vision…" I murmured, cringing. "I did find out Dominique's location, though," I squeaked out, hoping this would placate her. Her eyes were nearly blazing fire.

"Miss Weasley, do you understand how much danger you have put yourself in?! Had that spell gone wrong, you would most likely be in a coma!" she cried. She took a deep breath. "Don't you _ever_ let me catch you doing something like that again." But then her eyes became curious and narrowed. "But you said you know of Miss Weasley-Delacour's location."

"Yes, Professor, in a shack just outside of Little Hangleton." She nodded.

"And what exactly are they planning to do with her?"

"They said that they needed five more people besides Dom and the boy from Hogsmeade before the full moon, Professor, so I think there's going to be another attack. Somewhere with kids. And then on the full moon… they said something about a blood ritual." I saw the teacher stiffen.

"The Ministry has put us on full lock-down until this threat is uncovered. There's nothing we can do." Suddenly a mischievous look morphed over her face. "That _is_, as long as all students stay inside the castle and don't, say, sneak out with some older, possibly _graduated_ relatives that may possibly be related to the kidnapped victim to, let's see, steal back the children on their own, without the help of _any_ adult…" She stared us down. "James Potter still has that lovely map and cloak, yes?" I nodded slowly. "Well, he _better not use them_…" She turned to leave, then paused and said, "The statue of the hump-backed witch will be un-guarded the night after tomorrow. The teachers patrolling will be told to turn a blind eye. Good luck."

I turned to look a Scorpius as the door slammed shut. "Did the Headmistress of Hogwarts just tell us to go behind the Ministry's back and conduct our own rescue mission?"

"…I think she did…" He looked as shocked as I.

"Well, that means that we round up a group of suicidal nutjobs and launch our own rescue." I stared at Lily. _Aaaand _there's_ the reason she's in Gryffindor and I'm not_, I thought.

"Yeah, but I don't like that option," replied Scorpius. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I think you're forgetting something…" I glanced up at the Slytherin. He was just as stumped as I was. Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you two." She waited another few seconds before saying with the utmost conviction, "_Guys, we have a hoard of Potter-Weasleys on our hands._"


	11. Chapter 11

The next day, a plan was in motion.

James had agreed to work with Scorpius as long as he proved to him that he was on our side. This entailed a minor truth potion and twenty minutes of questions from James, all of which were answered to his satisfaction. We then gathered in the Room of Requirement (password was "a place to save our cousin") and got ready to plot exactly how to get our cousin back.

We had twelve people on the raid, including myself. Teddy and Victorie were coming back via apparition into the Shrieking Shack and then coming up the passage, waiting for James and his invisibility cloak to escort them up to the school. There was no way Victorie was going to miss this. As she said, brandishing a knife in one hand and her wand in the other, "Mess with my sister, you have hell and your private parts to pay" (the boys gave her a respectful distance after that). Scorpius, Lily, Hugo, Fred, and Albus were obviously on board, as were the Scamander twins (Lorcan and Lysander, twins in their seventh year, sons of our "Auntie" Luna). I made twelve, though James argued that I shouldn't go because I was exhausted. In response, I sent him a jelly-legs jinx that made him okay with my going.

Within the day, we had the supplies we needed. Teddy, Victorie, and James were all of-age and thus could side-along apparate us to the location and back. From there, we had emergency portkies that would take us back to the Shrieking Shack if things went sour. Each was in the shape of a muggle poker chip, and when the center was pressed, it would activate. McGonagall promised (off the record, of course) that she would send teachers after us if we weren't home by four in the morning. Other than that, we were on our own.

* * *

It was midnight when Scorpius came to get me from the Ravenclaw common room. I wore the most practical clothing I could, enchanting it black and giving it a few more concealing properties. Circe rode on my back, claws dug into the thicker areas of the shirt. Knocker bid us good luck and a warning that if we died, we would never going to hear the end of it. Soon, the two of us were tapping the witches hump (_dissendium_) and descending into the darkness.

We were the third group out of four to arrive, Lorcan and Lysander still missing from our ranks. They stumbled down the passage a few minutes later, cursing Peeves with every footfall and covered in glitter. I smiled and cast a cleansing spell as we walked just outside of the school's enchantment boundary. We were still under the earth, and could see the faint glow of the Honeyduke's trapdoor ahead of us, but we stopped. We connected hands with our designated travel-buddies (Teddy was taking Lily, Fred, and Hugo, Victorie was taking Albus, Lorcan, and Lysander, and Scorpius and I were traveling alongside James) and with a _pop_, arrived in locations around the house. We formed a triangle, two groups flanking either side of the front and one group in the back. The front two groups had their pockets filled with Weasley products like Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and various noisemakers. These were to draw out whomever was guard with minimum casualties. Slowly, James, Scorpius and I approached the back of the house and peeked inside. Two figures were there, one male, the other female. Their wands were drawn and they were still, frozen around four chairs. One held Dominique. Another held the town boy. The other two held a pair of twins, one boy, one girl. Their eyes were the same green-grey and their hair was black. The girl's was still in pony tails. They couldn't be more than five. The guards were like statues. They didn't move, even as the children struggled. _Something's off_. I waved my hand at the boys to stop and get down and pulled a piece of parchment from my pocket. As I scratched words on paper, I felt Circe dismount and perch on the window ledge. The guards didn't move.

_There's something wrong about this. They don't seem to be moving. They're either decoys or cursed or something, but we don't do anything until we figure out what it is. –R _

The message bled onto the papers that Victorie and Teddy were holding, and soon responses appeared.

_Very well, write off a signal when you're ready. –V_

_If we hear a scuffle, we'll attack. Other than that, signal, yeah. –T_

I glanced at the other two and showed them the note. James's face scrunched up and Scorpius gestured for the paper. I handed it to him, as well as the muggle pen I used for convenience.

_How can you tell? –S_

I gestured for him to hand the paper back.

_Decoy = not solid or disappears when touched. Doesn't respond to most senses correctly. Cursed = you can tell by the eyes. –R _

_Don't forget the Imperius Curse is the easiest to spot when relaxed but the hardest to spot when tense. –V_

_Also, look at the skin! –T_

_Everyone stay calm. Unless you hear spells, DO NOT TAKE ACTION. –R _

Slowly, I moved up a bit and pointed my wand at the ceiling. It was an old building, so I wouldn't be suspicious if-

A piece of mortar crumbled from the corner of the room, clattering to the ground. Two faces turned, and I stared them down. Blank, cloudy eyes, always tense. They didn't speak. Their skin had a very sickly pale to it, and I tensed as I recognized the faces. I bent down again.

_Scorpius, you need to head home. –R _

_What? –S _

_You use your Portkey now, I'm not having you- _I cut myself off as a puzzle piece fit together_.__ Never mind. Scorpius, I need you to stay calm._ Poor boy was so confused now. _Scorpius, promise me you'll stay calm._ I saw James look up at the still frozen faces and crouched down again, understanding exactly what was wrong.

_I'll be calm. –S_

I made sure that he couldn't read as I wrote, then turned the paper so that he could read it all at once.

_Scorpius, your parents are under the Imperius Curse- and they're the guards. –R_

* * *

All in all, he took it rather well. His breathing quickened, his already pale skin somehow still whitened, and he nearly toppled over. He kept himself upright, though, and visibly tried to calm himself.

_Scorpius, you should go home. I'm not going to ask you to potentially injure your own parents when they're like this and this can be traumatizing. –V_

I handed the frozen boy the paper and he glanced at it. Slowly, he lifted the pen again.

_So they're not doing this out of their own free will. –S _

No, they aren't. –T

_Then I'm staying. –S_ I saw his hands shake as he wrote and took the paper from him.

_It's okay, Scorpius. They're okay. We just have to snap them out of it and get them back to the Shrieking Shack. Then we can get McGonagall to figure it out. –R_ He nodded gratefully. It was time to take action.

_Okay, action in seven! No exceptionally harmful curses, try for mainly Stunning and Body-Bind! THE PERSON CONTROLLING THEM WILL BE OUT TO KILL. BE CAREFUL AND WATCH EACH OTHER'S BACKS. Be careful, love and luck to all. –R_

_Got it. Luck to you all, dears. (And thank you Scorpius, for staying to help us get my sister back) –V_

_Good luck, everybody! See you at the Shack! –T_

James rubbed his face nervously and fingered the portkies in his jacket pocket. I froze. "We don't have enough portkies for four kids," I whispered in his ear. He stiffened, too.

"Can you and Scorpius stick together and use the same one? I can take one of them in side-along, but any more than that in a rush and I'll splinch. If you give up one, we'll have three and then the three can get to the shack." I nodded and handed him mine. Slowly, I whispered the plan to Scorpius and checked my watch. Four 'till. He nodded and glanced at James. Then, to my surprise, James extended his hand. They shook.

And right about then, the first noise-makers exploded.


	12. Chapter 12

The mission immediately exploded into chaos. Smoke was everywhere, and jinxes were flying just outside the doors. I saw Circe dart to where the kids were and the three of us slipped in the window as the Malfoys burst outside, wands blazing. The look in Dom's eyes was filled with a mixture of relief and panic as we slit the ropes and told her to run for the woods. She took the portkey and wand from a box and hopped over the window ledge. She made it out of view before James could even cut the next boy, one of the twins, loose. He, too, was given a Portkey and Scorpius helped him out the window. Over the outside commotions, James yelled, "I'll take the twins, have one use the Portkey and apparate with the other one! Here's the last Portkey, take the boy out of here!" He handed Scorpius the knife, lifted the girl out of the window, and the three of them ran. Half-way out of view, I saw James pick up the girl and run, getting them out as fast as he could. Circe meowed once and followed them. _She'll be alright._

When I looked back, Scorpius was almost done slicing through the footholds. He was bent over, face covered, and I made sure to guard the door. I glanced behind me. James was gone. I looked back, and Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, his eyes grey without whites and his skin a sick tinge.

He shot a burst of green light at me and I dodged out of the way. The table was blown away behind me. Quickly, I sent a stunner at him, which he deflected with ease. I dove behind the couch as another hex was shot my way. And then Draco turned to the pair of boys on his right. Scorpius had stood up, wand out, and was pointing it at his father. The younger boy was loose from the chair, his muscles frozen.

Father and son locked eyes.

I saw something happen in Draco's eyes, the strange tinge being fought off, a vein pulsing in his neck and indecision trembling his wand hand.

In a flash, it was gone.

"Father." Scorpius's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Grandson." The voice was Draco's, but in a sudden rush, we knew who was speaking. _Lucius Malfoy._ Their eyes were still fixed on each other. _That'll have to suffice as a distraction_. I wrote on the paper as quickly as I could and held it up so that only the town boy could see.

_I'll send a stunner his way and you run here. Fast, you're venerable otherwise._ He nodded just slightly. I moved in a whirl of motion, shooting up over the edge of the couch and back down again.

"_Stupefy_!" The man dispelled the spell with a wave of his wand and shot one back, a flash of green light. His grandson shot another, ducking behind the overturned table, and he dispelled it with another wave. His eyes fixated on the small, running child that I was beckoning, arms open. _Almost there, almost there…_

"_Sectumsempra_!" he roared, and the boy squealed and toppled forward.

"**_NO!_**" I screamed. _No, **no, NO!** _I lunged, caught him, held him to my chest and ran. We made it out the window, the sounds of Scorpius battling behind us, roaring over the chaos with my cousins and his mother outside. My feet kicked up leaves and I felt something wet leaking onto my shirt. _No, **no, NO!** This **can't** happen, no, **this can't happen!**_

I ran until I was over a hill, putting the boy down against the trunk of a tree. My breath caught as I saw a slice across his abdomen, like someone had sliced into him with the blade of a sword. He was whimpering, doubled over, tears streaking down his cheeks.

"Hey, look at me," I whispered softly. I put my hand under his chin and lifted his face gently. "I'm going to make this okay, I'm going to fix this, okay?" He nodded slightly. "I'm so sorry this happened to you…" I whispered as I slowly unwrapped his hands from where they pressed over the large, bleeding tear in him. I directed my wand at his belly and the wound tried to pull together, tried to seal itself, but couldn't make it. _No, no, **no, no, NO!**_ I tried again, and his face contorted in pain. It wasn't strong enough, only healer training knew anything stronger, **_I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING_**. He needed St. Mungo's and we couldn't get him there, not without him bleeding out. "Oh no, **_no_**, I'm so sorry honey, I'm so sorry. We'll get you back and fix you up, I promise, get you back and fix you up." I whispered soothing lies into his ear and held him close to me. He knew they were lies. He was too old to fool himself. His little bloody hands wrapped around my neck and he held himself close to me. He wrapped around me like a little monkey and I hugged him back. Tears flowed down my cheeks as well as his breathing grew more and more shallow.

"Whas yur name?" he breathed softly.

"Rose, I'm Rose. And you're Sammy, I remember you, you sold me lemonade one day, remember?" I choked out, holding him tight to me.

"Mn-hmh. Rosie?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"I gotta tell mummy I love her. And say bye-bye to Greenie. I gotta tell sissy she still owe me a cookie, an, an…" He let out a little sigh and went still.

"Sammy?" I choked. "No, no, Sammy, please-" I whispered in his ear. He didn't respond, didn't move.

I screamed his name and sobbed into his shoulder, holding his empty shell close to me. I was a wreck, dead meat if any Death Eaters found me, my heart ripped into little shreds.

I heard a rustle in the bushes and Scorpius ran to where we were.

"Rose, we have to go, they brought back-up, come on, we have to-" He stopped. Froze, even. Saw me on my knees, sobbing, holding a body to my chest and screaming the little boy's name. "Oh, no…" Another explosion, and he glanced back in the direction he came.

"Rosie, I'm sorry, we have to go, we have to-" a Death Eater burst out of the bushes and ran straight into Scorpius's hex. He lowered his wand and I felt him grab me around the waist, holding Sammy's body, too, and press the center of our portkey.

The next thing I remember was kneeling on flat, dying grass in front of a two-story haunted house, still holding Sammy to my chest. I felt fur brush my side. _Circe_. And then a scream behind us.

A woman with the same sandy hair as the body in my arms ran over and fell to her knees next to me. I loosened my grip a little and laid him down, gently closing his eyes. "I-I-I'm s-s-so s-s-s-sorry," I choked out, more tears pouring down my face. His mother screamed again and pulled the body up into her arms. I felt thin, cold hands on mine and let Scorpius guide me up into a standing position. I glanced at the grieving mother and practically threw myself into Scorpius's arms, wrapping mine up around his neck. He wrapped me up in his arms and held me close, his arms almost painfully tight. He held me as if he didn't want to lose me. I heard a _pop_, and a man stumbled forward.

"Linda?! What-" His eyes rested on his son's limp head over his mother's shoulder. "No…" he gasped, stiff in place. Before we knew what was happening, he was on his knees next to his wife, blubbering just as badly as she was. I choked down my sobs. I needed to tell them… Slowly, I removed my arms from around Scorpius's neck and tried to step away.

"No." His warm puff of breath hit my ear and his arms kept me from moving away. "I could have lost you, too. Don't go." I nodded into him, my face half-buried in the fabric of his shirt, and instead turned in his arms, my shoulder blades pressing against his chest.

"M-m-m-miss?" I choked. She looked up, tears still falling. Her husband followed suit. "H-h-h-he s-s-s-said h-h-he l-l-loved you. A-a-and that he n-n-needed t-t-t-to s-s-say b-b-b-bye to G-g-greenie. A-a-and t-t-that his s-s-s-sister owed him a-a-a cookie…" I sputtered out. "**_I'm so sorry!_**" I screamed, letting my emotions consume me. I writhed in the Slytherin's grip. "**_I couldn't- I couldn't- I didn't know the spell- I'M SO SORRY!_**" I doubled over Scorpius's arms and his hands moved from my waist to my shoulders, x-ing across my chest. He pulled me close to him so that we were both bent over a little bit, my knees loose and weak so that I hung close to the ground.

"_Shhhhh_." It was a soft hiss, a soft whisper in my ear. Slowly, he let himself fall a little bit backwards and me with him, so that I landed on his lap. I dissolved into a mess of tears. This was all my fault. All my damned fault. We should have sent aurors, we should have told my father, we should have let someone else do it, _anything_ but this. Arms encircled me and held me tight, and my fists clenched the fabric of his shirt. Sobs choked from the parents and I heard a frog croaking and Circe caterwauling next to it. There was nothing but the cries of grief piercing the still air.

* * *

That was how they found us. At four in the morning, two parents cried over their son's body. A cat and a frog sang with inhuman grief. A girl and a boy held onto each other and sobbed. And a pack of teachers, battle-ready and wands drawn, found them all in a field as the first rays of light touched the earth.


End file.
